Look for? Look after? Look at? Look below!
Do you know that in changing the preposition after the verb “look”, the meaning changes completely? Welcome to “phrasal verbs” – the bête noire of English language learning! Meet the challenge...
- Look after= to take care of
→ When my sister is away, I look after her cat.
- Look around/round = visit a place and see what is there
→ Do you want to look around/round town this afternoon?
- Look down on= to see someone or something as inferior
→ Many Americans used to look down on Japanese made cars. They don't now.
- Look for = to search for something or someone
→ I am looking for my keys and I can’t find them.
- Look forward to= to be excited about something that will happen in the future
→ I am really looking forward to Christmas this year, because my family are coming to visit.
- Look into= to investigate or examine
→ The manager promised to look into my complaint.
- Look out = to be careful to avoid imminent danger
→ Look out! There is a broken bottle near your foot.
- Look through= to examine or read something, usually quickly
→ Can you look through this report before I give it to the director?
- Look up = to search for information (usually in a book)
→ I must look that word up in the dictionary, because I don’t know what it means.
- Look up to = to respect or admire someone
→ I really look up to my father, because he is a very wise man.
