The key difference between Watch and Warning is that Watch is primarily used as a verb while Warning primarily used as a noun. Watch and Warning are two words that are often confused when it comes to their meanings. It is indeed true that both these words differ from each other when it comes to their usage. The word ‘watch’ is primarily used as a verb, and it gives the meaning of ‘observe’. On the other hand, the word ‘warning’ is used as a noun, and it gives the meaning of ‘caution’.
Key Takeaways
- Watch is primarily used as a verb, meaning to observe attentively over a period of time.
- Warning is primarily used as a noun, meaning a statement or event that serves as a cautionary example.
- Both words have different usages and grammatical categories, with watch being both a verb and a noun, while warning is mainly a noun.
What Does Watch Mean?
Watch, which is primarily used as a verb, means to observe. According to the Oxford dictionary, watch means ‘look at or observe attentively over a period of time.’. Observe the two sentences:
1. Francis watched the movie with interest.
2. Angela watched her friend entering into a shop.
In both sentences, the word ‘watch’ is used in the sense of ‘observe’, and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘Francis observed the movie with interest’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘Angela observed her friend entering into a shop’.
It is interesting to note that the verb ‘watch’ is sometimes used as a noun too, as in the sentence: “he had a good watch at the ball”. In this sentence, the word ‘watch’ is used as a noun.
Furthermore, the word ‘watch’ is sometimes used in hyphenated words such as ‘watch-dog’, ‘night-watchman’, and the like. The past participle form of the verb ‘watch’ is ‘watched’. It is important to know that the verb ‘watch’ is a regular verb.
The word ‘watch’ is sometimes used in the sense of an object noun that indicates time, such as wristwatch and the like. This is due to the fact that time gets observed by means of a watch.
What Does Warning Mean?
Warning is a noun which means to be alert or to be cautious for some liable accident to happen in the near future. The Oxford dictionary defines the noun warning as “a statement or event that warns of something or that serves as a cautionary example”.
Observe the two sentences:
1. Robert gave a warning to his students.
2. Andrew took it as a warning.
In both sentences, the word ‘warning’ is used in the sense of ‘caution’, and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘Robert gave a caution to his students’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘Andrew took it as a caution’. This is a very important observation to make when it comes to the usage of the two words, namely, watch and warning.
As a matter of fact, the word ‘warning’ is also used as a verb, though it is primarily used as a noun, as in the sentence: “he warns his son of the consequences”. In this sentence, the word ‘warn’ is used as a verb.
However, sometimes the word ‘warning’ is used in the sense of ‘notice’. This is especially true in the case of its usage in sports language, as in the sentences: “The umpire issued a warning to the bowler”. In this sentence, the word ‘warning’ is used in the sense of ‘notice’, and hence the meaning of the sentence would be ‘the umpire issued a notice to the bowler’. Moreover, the verb ‘warn’ is also one of the many regular verbs. The verb ‘warn’ has its past participle form as ‘warned’.
What is the Difference Between Watch and Warning?
Watch vs Warning
Watch as a verb means ‘look at or observe attentively over a period of time.’ Warning means ‘a statement or event that warns of something or that serves as a cautionary example’.
Grammatical Category
The word watch is primarily a verb but it can be a noun as well. The word warning is a noun.
Usage
The verb watch can be used indicating someone to draw attention to something or someone observing something. The noun warning is basically used to indicate a caution.
Summary – Watch vs Warning
Watch and Warning are often misinterpreted. The difference between watch and warning is that watch is primarily used as a verb while warning is primarily used as a noun. Therefore, having a sound knowledge of these two words is a necessity when using the English language.
