Can someone please explain to me ..?

Question

What the difference is between
1. “look” & “see”
2. “hear” & “listen”
Can you construct sentences to illustrate the difference?

When someone has passed on, they were addressed as “the late Mr. …” How did that phrase come about?

Answer 1

"look" and "listen" are both passive verbs, while "see" and "hear" are both active verbs. You have to look at something before you see it, just as you have to listen in order to hear something.
"Look at the bird!" is something you would say to direct their attention to a bird, "See the bird!" is something you might say to someone who is already looking at the sky or towards the bird.
The same goes for "Listen to the teacher speak" and "You can hear the anger in his voice". The active verb - "listen" - sounds like you are talking to someone who wasn't already listening or paying attention to the teacher. The passive verb "hear" doesn't encourage a change in course.

Active verbs usually tend to connote a change in action, while passive verbs usually tend to connote a continuation of the current action.

I'm not sure about how the phrase "late" developed to describe a deceased person.

Answer 2

To look means oftentimes to direct one's glance at something but not fully comprehend like seeing would. I looked for my ball all morning but I didn't see it on endtable.

Hear and listen are the same thing. One is not directed and the other is. I listened to the radio with half an ear until I heard that new song I like so well.

They are called "late" because it's a gentle term. Saying "My late husband, Mr. Brown..." sounds so much nicer than "My dead husband liked hot dogs."

Answer 3

To me, in both cases the difference is between observation and comprehension.

"Look" and "hear" are both words that just describe using your senses, but "see" and "listen" imply some sort of understanding or absorption.

Eg.

With one "look" at Jim's face, Kate could "see" quickly that he was upset.

"It's not enough to "hear" the music - to appreciate opera, you have to "listen" for the emotion that is expressed."

Not 100% sure about the term late, but I think it was originally coined to describe someone who had died quite recently, but it has sort of evolved into just a euphemism for deceased.