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seen ~ scene

[‘scene’ rhymes with ‘seen’]

“Seen” (verb) is the past participle form of the verb word ‘see’ — see – saw – seen – seeing , which means‘to notice the people and the things, and the incidents happening around oneself using one’s eyes; to notice that something is true or something is becoming better or worse, using one’s mind rather than eyes; to understand the hidden meaning of something’,

e.g.

I have seen a cat prowling in the dark.

She has seen several people suffering from lack of water.

Have you seen the news on TV?   {“‘watched’ the news” is also possible in this sentence}

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“Scene” (noun) is ‘a part of a play (drama) where there is no change in time and place; a piece of action that takes place, at a stretch, in one place and at the same time in a book or film; the place where something, such as an accident, crime, fight, etc. happened; (of a place or in a picture) the things one sees or what appears there; (make a scene) the act of arguing or fighting very loudly and indecently, especially a man and his wife or two friends in a public place’,

{Note: “don’t make scene” is to ask somebody to behave in a bad way — not shout loudly, not to do things, usually bad things in the public, not to quarrel or fight with others, usually with friends, family members or colleagues.}

e.g.

They showed Niagara Falls in the opening scene of the recently released movie.

The police were at the scene of the crime, busy keeping the curious by-standers off the place.

There was a major accident on the highway involving eleven deaths, and the TV crew was on the scene within minutes.   [i.e. the TV crew was at the place where the accident took place]

His wife made a big scene at the party because he sat with his friends drinking, totally ignoring her.

Common Errors:

1.

From the window of our hotel room, there was a beautiful scene of the ice-caped mountains.  [wrong]

From the window of our hotel room, there was a beautiful view of the ice-caped mountains.  [right]

2.

The guide stopped the bus now and then so that the tourists could enjoy the scene and take some pictures.  [wrong]

The guide stopped the bus now and then so that the tourists could enjoy the scenery and take some pictures of it.  [right]

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