本篇照例排除 look 其他用法,包括當作連綴動詞使用的「看起來+補語(形容詞/名詞)」與引申的抽象意義如「研究(look into)」、「仰望(look up to)」等,只討論與「視覺的看」有關的用法。
look 與 watch/see 最大的不同,就是它是個「不及物動詞」,後面若沒有介系詞,不能接受詞。Look 強調的,是眼睛朝某個方向看,其方向由後面所接的介系詞(有受詞)或介副詞(無受詞)來決定。請看常用介系詞/介副詞與其例句:
─ look ahead: The hunter looked ahead and saw nothing.(看向前方)
─ look at: Johnny looked at me and gave me a big smile.(直視目標物)
─ look around: The mailman looked around and saw four Rottweilers approaching him from all sides.(掃瞄四周)
─ look back: Roy looked back to see if there was anyone following him.(向後看)
─ look into: The explorers looked into the hole on the ground, trying to figure out how deep it was.(看到裡頭去)
─ look out for: I strongly recommend you look out for that rare bird in our aviary. You won’t find it anywhere else in the northeastern part of the country.(為尋找而仔細看)
─ look through: The policeman looked through the window and saw nobody in the house.(看透某物體)
─ look up: Kate looked up and saw her mother standing in front of her desk.(抬頭往上看)
以上某些片語有其他非關視覺的用法,暫不討論。
有沒有發現 look 幾乎都得接上方向說明才能用呢?就算是如下的祈使句:
─ Look! There’s an ice cream stand up ahead. Let’s get some ice cream.
也是「look +方向」的省略用法,此句其實是 look ahead。