Hear or listen (to) ? | hear vs listen
‘Hearing’isanevent;itissomethingwhichhappenstousasanaturalprocess.‘Listening’isanaction;itissomethingwedoconsciously.Comparehearingisanevent.listeningisanaction.SuddenlyIheardanoise.Someonewasinthegarden.Didyouhearthethunderlastnight?[onthephone]Thelineisverybad.Ican’thearyou.Ilistenedverycarefullytowhatshesaidandwroteitalldown.Doyoulistentotheradioinbed?George!Listentome!Ihavesomethingimportanttotellyou.Sometimeswecanuseeitherhearorlistento,dependingonwhetherwewanttoemphasisetheeventortheac...
‘Hearing’ is an event; it is something which happens to us as a natural process. ‘Listening’ is an action; it is something we do consciously.
Compare
hearing is an event.
listening is an action.
Suddenly I heard a noise. Someone was in the garden.
Did you hear the thunder last night?
[on the phone]
The line is very bad. I can’t hear you.
I listened very carefully to what she said and wrote it all down.
Do you listen to the radio in bed?
George! Listen to me! I have something important to tell you.
Sometimes we can use either hear or listen to, depending on whether we want to emphasise the event or the action:
Did you hear that interview with David Beckham on the radio yesterday? (emphasis on the event)
Did you listen to that interview with ...