Craft Chat At vs To

[JoanUP]

I've noticed I sometimes use "to" when a reader corrects it to "at".
But sometimes the correction doesn't sound right to me and I can't figure out why.

Examples:

While describing looking at paintings, I used both "at" and "to":
"She stared out at us, holding a glass ball in front of her chest."
"Most were three-quarter busts of expressionless aristocrats staring out to us or off to the side."

In visiting a tailor who is trying to guess size: "He looked to my shoulders, then to my hips, and then twirled a finger to tell me to turn around."

In addressing a young girl who has a nanny a few yards away: "The girl glanced at me but then looked to the woman."
(This one makes sense to me in that when you look TO someone, you expect a response. But not when you look AT someone.)

Any insight?

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

"Look to" usually means in your head and refers to considering e.g. look to the future, or means focussing on something abstract or not within the narrator's view e.g. look to the East.
When your gaze is physically directed toward the object of the sentence, you "look at" or "stare at".

So above: "aristocrats staring out at us or off to the side."
"He looks at my shoulders then at my hips . . . "
Nanny a few yards away: "glanced at me then looked at the woman" or "glanced at me then looked toward the woman".
(To = you expect a response - yes that can be the case) e.g. "glanced at me then looked to the woman for answers."

Hope this helps

 

[Rich.]

"Look to" [...] means focussing on something abstract or not within the narrator's view e.g. look to the East.

I agree with Hannah, but I'd add to clarify that look to can also mean direct your gaze in a general direction that is in view. As in: "Look to your right, and you'll see the man in the blue jacket." Once you've looked to the right and spotted the man, you would be looking at him.

 

[E G Logan]

"Look to your right, and you'll see the man in the blue jacket." Once you've looked to the right and spotted the man, you would be looking at him.

Excellent example.

 

[Mel L]

I agree with Rich that there's a directional sense in looking 'to' something vs 'at'. Or, as Hannah says, looking to someone for guidance or an answer of some kind.