Semantic differences among "see, look (at)‎, and watch" in the performance of 10th grade students in gaza strip

Abstract EN

This paper deals with the description of the verbs 'see', 'look', and 'watch' and their equivalents in Palestinian Arabic to account for the difficulty the Palestinian 10th grade students have when they use them in English.

The verbs have been thoroughly analyzed to examine their semantic load in both English and Palestinian Arabic.

The statistical analysis of the 163 subjects' use of these verbs in English reveals that they have a problem in distinguishing among the uses of these verbs; that there is a correlation between the past tense and the correct use of the verb 'see', and between the correct use of the verb 'look' and the imperative mood; and that there are some statistically significant differences among the subjects related to different geographic locations.

Also, the paper also reveals that the differences of the three verbs in Palestinian Arabic and English with special focus on the pragmatic and semantic load of each verb