Episode 112
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Hi, everyone! I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you to speak English fluently.
Today you will learn how to replace the word "look" in a sentence if you want to be more concise. I'll give you an example, depending on the context. In the previous episodes, I gave several examples of terms or expressions that you may use instead of "look". So make sure that you listen to the earlier episodes as well.
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We’ll start with the word to scan.
1)To scan
When we look over something quickly we "scan" it.
Let me explain.
Imagine you have to get out of the house, and you're in a hurry. Surprise, surprise, you can't find your keys or your sunglasses. By the way, that never happened to me. I was just kidding. Unfortunately, this occurs to me quite often.
So what do you do in this situation? You start looking for your keys or your sunglasses. Or you could also say that you're scanning the room for your keys. Can you see? That’s a more precise word to use in this situation.
We might scan a room at a party to see if our friend is there.
Example:
"I scanned the room to see if Mary was there."
"I need to scan some diagrams for my PowerPoint presentation."
2)To eye
The thing is that whenever we observe something we use our eyes, so this word is quite straightforward.
We use the word "eye" to express our interest in something.
We might eye the candies on the table even though we don't want the extra sugar.
Example:
"I have been eyeing that cake for hours now but I must resist, since I’m on a diet."
3)To examine
When we "examine" something, we inspect it closely.
A doctor might examine your body to make sure that you are healthy.
Example:
"Whenever I got a cut my mom examined it and then cleaned it for me."
4) To peer
When you can’t see something completely because your vision is obstructed, we can say that you are peering at it.
Examples:
"The girl was jumping up and down trying to peer out the window."
"George carefully peered inside the box."
5) To witness
This word is similar to "watch". It means that you saw something your own eyes, usually an event.
This word is often used in the field of criminal justice to say that someone "witnessed" a crime.
Examples:
"A friend told me she witnessed a crime last night."
"Jane returned to the witness stand. "
Speaking Practice
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story from different points of view and notice how grammar changes naturally.
First version
Present Tense
It's almost Christmas, and Emma and her six-year-old daughter go shopping at a mall.
As they walk, the little girl, who is holding her mother's hand, eyes a beautiful cake in a shop window.
At the same time, Emma peers in a sophisticated fashion store.
She immediately goes inside to examine the new seasonal dresses.
After a few moments, Emma realizes that her daughter is no longer at her side.
She quickly scans the store but can't find her daughter.
Emma is so worried about not finding her daughter that she has an expression on her face as if she witnessed a crime.
Finally, Emma finds her daughter in the bakery. She is inside contemplating that delicious cake.
So Emma and her daughter eat a big slice of that cake and enjoy their time together.
Second version
Past Tense
Just before Christmas, Emma and her six-year-old daughter went shopping at a mall.
As they walked, the little girl, who was holding her mother's hand, saw a beautiful cake in a shop window.
At the same time, Emma eyed a sophisticated fashion store.
She immediately went inside to examine the new seasonal dresses.
After a few moments, Emma realized her daughter was no longer at her side.
She quickly scanned the store but couldn't find her daughter.
Emma was so worried about not finding her daughter that she had an expression on her face as if she witnessed a crime.
Finally, Emma found her daughter in the bakery. She was inside contemplating that delicious cake.
So Emma and her daughter ate a big slice of that delicious cake to celebrate their time together.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary from This Episode
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
01 scan
look over an area quickly and systematically.
05 witness
see an event happen, especially a crime or accident.
02 eye
look at something with interest or attention.
06 shop window
a window used to display products in a store.
03 examine
look at something carefully to understand it.
07 contemplate
look at or think about something carefully.
04 peer
look closely, especially when it is difficult to see.
08 seasonal
connected with a particular time of year.
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