What's new

see/meet + person

hirashin

Sempai
Donor
8 Apr 2004
2,720
63
63
Dear native English speakers,
Would you please help me?

1A) I'm going to meet Tom Brown tomorrow.
1B) I'm going to see Tom Brown tomorrow.
2A) I met Sara Baker yesterday.
2B) I saw Sara Baker yesterday.

What's the difference between (A) and (B) in each pair.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin
 
What's the difference between (A) and (B) in each pair.

With 2A / 2B you could have just literally seen her, and not spoken to her. That interpretion wouldn't work for 1A / 1B.

Saw can be used to mean 'accidentally met'.

"I saw Fred down the pub the other night." "Oh? How is he doing?"

"I'm going to see Tom Brown tomorrow" can't be using that sense because it is a planned action. Although it does with with possible future actions e.g. "I'm going to my old hometown tomorrow. I might see someone I knew."

One usage difference between 'see' and 'meet' is that 'see' is used in the sense of going for a professional consultation. e.g. If you are unwell, I would advise you to see a doctor. If you have agoraphobia then you might want to see a therapist. If your car smells of petrol then you should see a mechanic.

If you were going to see Dr Tom Brown that would be a likely interpretation. :)

Yeah, that's the only thing that springs to mind for those sentences.

Not relevant to your question - but "seeing someone" is used for "going out with someone".
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help, PaulTB. The usage difference between "meet" and "see" often puzzles me.

(3A) Nice to meet you.
(3B) Nice to see you.

If you meet someone for the first time, you use (3a),not (3B), right?

Not relevant to your question - but "seeing someone" is used for "going out with someone".

Oh, really? Then, can you say something like "I'm seeing Mary these days" or "Mike's seeing Jane" ?
 
(3A) Nice to meet you.
(3B) Nice to see you.

If you meet someone for the first time, you use (3a),not (3B), right?

Absolutely.

Oh, really? Then, can you say something like "I'm seeing Mary these days" or "Mike's seeing Jane" ?
Yep. Although I guess it might be a bit old fashioned now.
 
Another angle on the meaning of these is to substitute someone famous:

1A) I'm going to meet Adele tomorrow. (I'm so excited.)
1B) I'm going to see Adele tomorrow.
2A) I met Adele yesterday. (I can't believe it.)
2B) I saw Adele yesterday.

The B sentences then mean to see a performance.
 
Thanks, PaulTB and johnnyG.
Another angle on the meaning of these is to substitute someone famous:

1A) I'm going to meet Adele tomorrow. (I'm so excited.)
1B) I'm going to see Adele tomorrow.
2A) I met Adele yesterday. (I can't believe it.)
2B) I saw Adele yesterday.

The B sentences then mean to see a performance.

About 1A and 2A, do they mean that the speaker spoke to Adele?
 
Is it possible to say "see daddy/Mom"?

This is from BBC Learning English.

Quiz: Talking about the future
"We'll see daddy very soon. His flight ______ in ten minutes."
a) is bound to land
b) is due to landing
c) is due to land

Would "We'll meet daddy/Mom" be also possible in this case?
 
I would say you would only want to use "meet" in that context if you will go to a certain location to see them. For example, "We'll meet with your father at the airport soon. His flight is due to land in ten minutes". That's a difference of "meet" versus "meet with" though.
 
Thanks for the help, mdchachi.
Hmm... It's still difficult for me to choose the correct one.
 
Back
Top Bottom