These words all mean to become aware of sb/sth by using your eyes, especially suddenly or when it is not easy to see them/it. 以上各词均含看见、见到、看出之义，尤指突然发现或注意到。

• see to become aware of sb/sth by using your eyes 指看见、见到、看出：◆She looked for him but couldn't see him in the crowd. 她在人群里找来找去，但没看见他。◆He could see (that) she had been crying. 他看得出她哭过。
• spot to see or notice sb/sth, especially suddenly or when they are not easy to see or notice 指看见、看出，尤指突然发现或注意到：◆I've just spotted a mistake on the front cover. 我刚才在封面上发现了一处错误。
• catch to see or notice sth for a moment, but not clearly or completely 指瞥见、察觉：◆She caught sight of a car in the distance. 她瞥见远处有一辆车。◆He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. 他看了一眼镜子中的自己。
• glimpse (literary) to see sb/sth for a moment, but not clearly or completely 指瞥见、看一眼：◆He'd glimpsed her through the window as he passed. 他路过时透过窗户瞥见了她。

Patterns

• to see/spot that/how/what/where/who…
• to suddenly see/spot/catch/glimpse sb/sth

These words all mean to turn your eyes in a particular direction. 以上各词均含看、观看之义。

• look to turn your eyes in a particular direction 指看、瞧：◆If you look carefully you can just see our house from here. 你要是仔细看，从这里就可以看见我们的房子。◆She looked at me and smiled. 她看了看我，笑了。
• watch to look at sb/sth for a time, paying attention to what happens 指看、注视、观看、观察：◆to watch television 看电视◆Watch what I do, then you try. 你注意看我的动作，然后试着做。
• see to watch a game, television programme, performance, etc. 指观看（比赛、电视节目、演出等）：◆In the evening we went to see a movie. 晚上我们去看了一场电影。
• view (formal) to look at sth, especially when you look carefully; to watch television, a film/movie, etc. 指看、观看（尤指仔细观察）；看（电视、电影等）：◆People came from all over the world to view her work. 观众从世界各地涌来欣赏她的作品。

watch, see or view? 用 watch、see 还是 view？

You can see/view a film/movie/programme, but you cannot◆see/view television View is more formal than see and is used especially in business contexts. 可以说 see/view a film/movie/programme，但不能说 see/view television。view 较 see 正式，尤用于商务语境。

• observe (formal) to watch sb/sth carefully, especially to learn more about them or it 指观察、注视、监视：◆The patients were observed over a period of several months. 这些病人被观察了数月之久。

Patterns

• to look/watch for sb/sth
• to watch/observe what/who/how…
• to look/watch/view/observe (sb/sth) with amazement/surprise/disapproval, etc.
• to watch/see/view a film/movie/show/programme
• to watch/see a match/game/fight
• to look (at sb/sth)/watch (sb/sth)/observe sb/sth carefully/closely

These words all mean to know or realize sth, for example why sth happens, how sth works or what sth means. 以上各词均含懂得、理解、认识到之义。

• understand to know or realize the meaning of words, a language, what sb says, etc; to know or realize how or why sth happens, how it works or why it is important 指懂、理解、领会（词义、语言、话语等），了解、认识到、明白（事情如何或为何发生、如何起作用或为何重要等）：◆I don't understand the instructions. 我不懂这些指令的意思。◆Doctors still don't understand much about the disease. 医生对这种疾病还了解不多。
• see to understand what is happening, what sb is saying, how sth works or how important sth is 指理解、明白、领会（正在发生的事、某人的话、某事如何起作用或重要性如何）：◆'It opens like this.' 'Oh, I see.' “这样就打开了。” “哦，我明白了。”◆Oh yes, I see what you mean. 噢，我明白你的意思了。
• get (informal) to understand a joke, what sb is trying to tell you, or a situation that they are trying to describe 指理解、明白（笑话、某人试图告知的事或描述的情况）：◆She didn't get the joke. 她听不懂那个笑话。◆I don't get you. 我搞不懂你的意思。
• follow to understand an explanation, a story or the meaning of sth 指理解、明白（说明、故事、意思）：◆Sorry—I don't quite follow. 对不起，我不太懂你的话。◆The plot is almost impossible to follow. 故事情节几乎叫人不明所以。
• grasp to come to understand a fact, an idea or how to do sth 指理解、领会、领悟、明白（事实、想法或如何做某事）：◆They failed to grasp the importance of his words. 他们没有理解他的话的重要性。

understand or grasp? 用 understand 还是 grasp？

You can use understand or grasp for the action of realizing the meaning or importance of sth for the first time. 第一次意识到某事的意义或重要性可用 understand 或 grasp：◆It's a difficult concept for children to understand/grasp. 对孩子来说，这是一个很难理解的概念。 Only understand can be used to talk about languages, words or writing. 只有 understand 可用于理解语言、词汇或文章等：◆I don't grasp French/the instructions.

• comprehend (often used in negative statements) (formal) to understand a fact, idea or reason （常用于否定句中）指理解、领悟、明白（事实、想法或原因）：◆The concept of infinity is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend. 无穷的概念几乎是人类的大脑无法理解的。

Patterns

• to understand/see/get/follow/grasp/comprehend what/why/how…
• to understand/see/grasp/comprehend that…
• to understand/see/get/grasp the point/idea (of sth)
• to be easy/difficult/hard to understand/see/follow/grasp/comprehend
• to fully understand/see/grasp/comprehend sth

These words all mean to think about sb/sth in a particular way. 以上各词均含认为、视为、看待之义。

• regard to think of sb/sth in a particular way 指认为、视为、看待：◆He seemed to regard the whole thing as a joke. 他似乎是把整件事当成玩笑。
• call to say that sb/sth has particular qualities or characteristics 指认为…是、把…看作：◆I wouldn't call German an easy language. 我并不认为德语是一门容易学的语言。
• find to have a particular feeling or opinion about sth 指认为、感到：◆You may find your illness hard to accept. 你可能觉得难以接受自己患病。
• consider to think of sb/sth in a particular way 指认为、视为、觉得：◆Who do you consider (to be) responsible for the accident? 你认为谁对这个事故负有责任？

regard or consider? 用 regard 还是 consider？

These two words have the same meaning, but they are used in different patterns and structures. In this meaning consider must be used with a complement or clause: you can consider sb/sth to be sth or consider sb/sth as sth, although very often the to be or as is left out. 上述两词意义相同，但用于不同的句型和结构。用于此义时，consider 必须与补语或从句连用，可说 consider sb/sth to be sth 或 consider sb/sth as sth，不过 to be 或 as 常常省略不用：◆He considers himself an expert. 他认为自己是专家。◆They are considered a high-risk group. 他们被视为高危人群。 You can also consider that sb/sth is sth and again, the that can be left out. Regard is used in a narrower range of structures. The most frequent structure is regard sb/sth as sth; the as cannot be left out. 用 consider that sb/sth is sth 亦可，that 同样可以省略。regard 可用的句型结构较少，最常用的结构是 regard sb/sth as sth，但 as 不可省略：◆I regard him a close friend. You cannot 不能说：◆regard sb/sth to be sth or 或：◆regard that sb/sth is sthHowever, regard (but not consider in this meaning) can also be used without a noun or adjective complement but with just an object and adverb (sb/sth is highly regarded) or adverbial phrase (regard sb/sth with suspicion/jealousy/admiration). 不过，regard 亦可不与名词或形容词补语连用，只与宾语和副词（如 sb/sth is highly regarded）或副词短语（如 regard sb/sth with suspicion/jealousy/admiration）连用；consider 则不能这样用。

• see to have an opinion of sth 指认为、看待：◆Try to see things from her point of view. 设法从她那个角度去看问题。
• view to think of sb/sth in a particular way 指视为、认为、看待：◆How do you view your position within the company? 你如何看待你自己在公司中的位置？ NOTE View has the same meaning as regard and consider but is slightly less frequent and slightly less formal. The main structures are view sb/sth as sb/sth (you cannot leave out the as) and view sb/sth with sth. * view 与 regard、consider 意义相同，但略为不常用，也略非正式。主要结构有 view sb/sth as sb/sth（as 不能省略）和 view sb/sth with sth。

Patterns

• to regard/consider/see/view sb/sth as sth
• to regard/consider/see/view sb/sth from a particular point of view
• to find/consider sb/sth to be sth
• generally/usually regarded/considered/seen/viewed as sth
• to regard/consider/view sb/sth favourably/unfavourably

These words all mean to form an idea in your mind of what sb/sth might be like. 以上各词均含想象、设想之义。

• imagine to form an idea in your mind of what sb/sth might be like 指想象、设想：◆The house was just as she had imagined it. 这房子正如她所想象的。
• think to imagine sth that might happen or might have happened 指猜想、想象、试想：◆We couldn't think where you'd gone. 我们猜想不出来你到哪里去了。◆ Just think —this time tomorrow we'll be lying on a beach. 想想看，明天这个时候我们就躺在海滩上了。
• see to consider sth as a future possibility; to imagine sb as sth 指设想、想象：◆I can't see her changing her mind. 我无法想象她会改变主意。◆His colleagues see him as a future director. 他的同事认为他很可能是未来的负责人。
• envisage (especially BrE) to imagine what will happen in the future 指想象、设想、展望：◆I don't envisage working with him again. 我想象不出再与他一起工作的可能。 NOTE The usual word for this in American English is envision (see below). 在美式英语中，这一意义常用 envision（见下文）。
• envision to imagine what a situation will be like in the future, especially a situation that you intend to work towards 指展望、想象：◆They envision an equal society, free from poverty and disease. 他们向往一个没有贫穷和疾病的平等社会。 NOTE Envision is used especially in business and political contexts. In North American English it is also used as another form of the word envisage. * envision 尤用于商业和政治语境，在美式英语中亦作 envisage 的另一种形式：◆I don't envision working with him again. 我想象不出再与他一起工作的可能。

Patterns

• to imagine/see/envisage/envision sb/sth as sth
• to imagine/see/envisage/envision (sb) doing sth
• to imagine/think/see/envisage/envision who/what/how…
• to imagine/think/envisage/envision that…