Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[dido4]

What are the differences among these three verbs?
-->Hear / sound / listen to

thank you

[Kristea]

I'll give this a try...

Hear is a verb. "I hear my students talking in my sleep sometimes."

Sound is a noun. "The sound of their voices drives me crazy sometimes."

Listen to is verb phrase. (I think of "listening to" something involving thinking too as opposed to merely hearing something which may not involve thinking.) "I try not to listen to my students' conversations at lunch, but that can be hard sometimes."

(**I actually love my middle school students, but they are talkative.)

Hope that helps - Kristi
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"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson

[Jintii]

Hi, Dido4.

You hear things all the time without trying. The only people who don't hear are the deaf.

You listen to things only when you try to pay attention to them.

Some examples:

1. If a child doesn't hear you, you shouldn't be angry; you should speak more loudly or take him to a doctor. But if he doesn't listen to you, you will probably get angry because he is choosing not to pay attention to you.

2. My grandmother often doesn't hear me (she is old and her hearing is not good). But she always listens to me when I have a problem (she pays attention to what I'm saying, even if she can't hear all of it).

3. I hear music = somebody nearby is playing music, and it reaches my ears
I am listening to music = I am paying attention to music