Many thanks for your help, tzfujimino.
I 100% agree with you that "I'm trying to find my watch." is correct.
There was a time when my child asked me some questions in his school , the dialogue is as follows:-
My son: I'm finding the principal.
Me: You should say ' I'm looking for the principal'.
My son: W
hy can't we say 'I'm finding ' ?
Me:
'Find' means 'to get back something/somebody that was lost after searching for it/them'. The principal is not lost, she is still in school.
My son:
If a child is missing', can I say 'The police are finding him'?
I didn't know how to answer.
The reasons that I am confused are as follows:-
1) We cannot the present continuous tense for 'find', we must add 'trying to' before 'find.
2) When I googled 'find vs. look for, the moderator of the following forum said ' "Find" and "look for" have different meanings, and in fact, can
be considered opposites.'
a)"Find" is not usually used in the progressive, since, as you have noted, when you succeed, you have found the thing that you are looking for. The finding of something is a one-time event, not a continuous event.
b) Don't forget, though, that "find" can be used in the progressive when it means that you are in the process of discovering something, particularly to describe a state. (It seems that sentences a and b have contradiction.)
The websites are as follows:-
find vs. look for - Topic
find vs. look for - Topic
3) If "find" can be used in the progressive when it means that you are in the process of discovering something, why is ' I'm finding my watch' wrong? I know that the correct English is 'I'm trying to finding my watch'
If "Find" and "look for" can be considered opposites, why are the following sentences both correct?
1. My watch is missing! Can you find it for me?
2. I can't find my watch. Can you find it for me?
3. My watch is missing! Can you look for it?
4. I can't find my watch. Can you look for it?
Why don't we say ' My watch is missing! Can you try to find it for me?
I'd like to teach my son the different meaning of 'look for' and 'find, that's why I am so stubborn. If we use 'I found it' that's no problem for me.