An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'see through' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
In this post, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'see through', which may seem like quite a straightforward phrasal verb, but in fact it has some interesting uses that you may not be aware of. For each separate application, I will give you a detailed explanation of how to use it and lots of examples to aid your understanding. So, without further ado, let's make a start....
Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'see through' 😊
SEE THROUGH: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Saw through / seen through |
Separable? | Sometimes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
Before we start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'see through', let's first consider what the words 'see' and 'through' mean on their own.
Our focus verb this week is the verb 'to see', which is a sensory verb, meaning 'to perceive something with your eyes' and I'm sure it will be extremely familiar to most readers. In addition to this sensory meaning, it also has a second meaning in English, which is to understand something after consideration or reflection; possibly as we can see something clearly in our mind once we understand it. The meaning of 'see' that we are interested in for this phrasal verb however, is the first meaning of visual perception.
The preposition that is keeping 'see' company in this post is 'through', which is one of those annoying English words with a lot of unnecessary letters (thru is also a less common variant of through and should be limited to informal use only). The main meaning of 'through' is to pass into something on one side of it and out on the other side. In other words, to pass into and out of the interior of something, ending up on the other side of it to the where you started.
Ok, so now we have covered the basics, the first meaning should be pretty obvious....
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To look through |
Separable? | No |
After looking at the words 'see' and 'through', it will probably come as no surprise to you that the literal meaning of these words combined is simply 'to see through the middle of something to what is on the other side of it'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
|
This application is used for both materials and substances that are so thin that light pass through them, as well as for surfaces and objects that have physical holes or cracks in them, allowing us to see to the other side. In this sense the modal verb 'can' is normally used to express the possibility of 'seeing through' something.
I love this dress but in very bright sunlight you can see through it, so I only wear it on dreary or rainy days.
The car accident was caused by the driver not being able to see through the tinted windows.
The curtains were so thin that I could easily see through them.
Can you see much through the binoculars?
This paper is so thin that when you put it on top of another sheet, you can see through it.
Native speakers also often add the word 'right' between 'see' and 'through' to emphasise when something can be seen through very easily or clearly.
This crack in the wall is getting bigger, you can see right through it and into the garden now!
That fish is astonishing! You can see right through it!
If we want to insert a direct object into our sentence and talk about who or what we can see on the other side of the transparent surface, we just insert it into the middle of 'see' and 'through', as per the examples below....
I knew that he was coming as I could see him through the window.
Now that your clothes are wet we can see your underwear through them!
SEE-THROUGH AS AN ADJECTIVE
In addition to the phrasal verb 'see through', we also have the adjective form 'see-through', which is derived from the literal form of this phrasal verb. As you can probably guess, if something is 'see-through', it is transparent or in other words, you can see right through it! This is most commonly used to talk about items of clothing but other nouns that you may hear it with are floor, ceiling and display.
MEANING 2: To understand someone's hidden intentions
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To realise, to get the measure of someone |
Separable? | No |
This second meaning of 'see through' is a slight departure from the literal meaning that we have just looked at, as it does not really involve our eyes at all. The meaning here is 'to understand or realise what a person's hidden intentions are'.
Nous commonly used with this application....
|
This meaning is all about deception and pretence. It should only ever be needed if a person is not being genuine or sincere, perhaps because they want to gain something from us or from the relationship. If and when we realise that the person's intentions are not sincere and we understand the true reality of the situation, we can say that we 'see through' them.
In addition to seeing through a person, it is also common to use nouns like 'words', disguise', 'pretence', 'lies', 'deception' and 'facade'.
The jury immediately saw through the defendant's story in court.
I could see through him from the very start. I can't believe that you couldn't!!
Lisa saw right through John's clever disguise!
Stacey pretended to be nice, but I could see through her fake smile.
I saw through John's lies the moment he started making excuses.
The boss quickly saw through their plan to manipulate the project deadlines.
Kelly thought she could fool me, but I saw through her tricks right away.
The teacher saw through her student's excuse for not doing the homework.
The suspect tried to act innocent, but the detective easily saw through his act.
The audience quickly saw through the politician's empty promises during the debate.
MEANING 3: To persevere with something and finish it
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To persevere, to persist, to stick with, to stick something out |
Separable? | Yes |
In this third meaning we need to change our word order from 'see through something', with the direct object following the verb, to 'see something through', with the direct object now being placed firmly in the middle of the phrasal verb construction.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
|
This change of word order and direct object placement gives us a brand new meaning, which is to 'persist or persevere with something until the end'. This is typically used in situations in which you start something that turns out to be more difficult than you originally anticipated and en element of perseverance or persistence is required in order to finish it. Examples of this could be a difficult work project, a romantic relationship that is not going well or a demanding job that you have started.
The majority of the time when using 'see something through', the difficult job or situation has already previously been mentioned in the conversation, so we normally only require the pronouns 'it' or 'them'. Also, it is quite common to follow this usage up with the words 'to the end' or 'to completion'.
Despite all the challenges, Lucy was determined to see the project through to the end.
It won’t be easy, but if we stay focused, we can see this task through.
Once I commit to something, I always see it through, no matter how difficult it gets.
We need a strong leader who can see this initiative through successfully.
I know this is a tough challenge, but let’s see it through together.
He had doubts at times, but his passion for the work helped him see it through.
My wife and I have been having problems for some time now but we have agreed that we will see them through for the sake of our children.
I experienced so many problems when designing my website and I almost gave up but thankfully I persevered and saw it through and now I am a very proud website owner.
Lisa has handed in her notice today and will leave at the end of this month but she has promised to see the finance project through to completion before leaving.
MEANING 4: To support someone in a difficult time
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To support, to help through, to get through |
Separable? | Yes |
Our fourth and final meaning of 'see through' is to help and support someone through a difficult period until they are ok again.
This is quite similar to the previous meaning that we have just looked at, however rather than seeing something through, in this case the direct object changes from a situation or problem to a person and we see someone through instead.
The idea here is that the problem or negative situation is something that will pass with time, however it will be very difficult (or impossible) without other people who support us and help us through to the other side. This support could come in many forms but typically would be giving money, providing emotional support or some other help that we may require until the negative or difficult situation has passed.
Alternatively, if we say that something "sees us through", it means that we have enough of it to last for a particular period of time, especially if this period is difficult or challenging in some way. Typically, this could be money, food or something else which we don't want to run out of before we can obtain more of it.
I wasn't able to work when I was at university but thankfully my parents paid for my accommodation and saw me through.
Hibernating mammals need to store as much fat as possible to see them through the winter.
Jenny's best friend saw her through the toughest moments of her life.
The charity organisation sees many struggling families through difficult situations.
Mel's wife saw him through his illness with unwavering love and care.
David's family saw him through his financial struggles with their constant support.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'see through'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'see through'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published.
Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊
THE END
Commenti