listen

[Offroad]

Dear friend...

are these sentences OK?

He listens to 'My name is Eric'.
He is listening to 'Atomic Bomb'.
They listen 'I ain't gonna help';
They are listening to 'They're back';
They like listening (to) Frank Sinatra.

Thanks

 

[BobK]

You always need the "to"; it's not like escutar!

I'm listening to <song-title>. ex: 'the Marseillaise'
I'm listening to <singer-name>. ex: 'Johnny Halliday'
I'm listening to <music-type>. ex: 'R&B'
I'm listening to <sound-source>. ex. 'the radio'

b

 

[TheParser]

Dear friend...

are these sentences OK?

He listens to 'My name is Eric'.
He is listening to 'Atomic Bomb'.
They listen 'I ain't gonna help';
They are listening to 'They're back';
They like listening (to) Frank Sinatra.

Thanks

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Offroad.

(1) In American English, one uses double quotation marks for

song titles, and the period always goes inside:

He listens to "My Name Is Eric."

He is listening to "Atomic Bomb."

They listen to "I Ain't Gonna Help."

They are listening to "They're Back."

They are listening to Frank Sinatra.

THANK YOU

P. S. The New York Times says to capitalize the principal words in a

song title.

 

[Offroad]

I'm a bit worried about the tenses. Are they fine?

Thanks

 

[TheParser]

I'm a bit worried about the tenses. Are they fine?

Thanks

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Offroad.

(1) Could you please tell us your concerns about the tenses?

(2) I guess the tense all depends on what time frame you are

referring to.

(3) Could you please explain the problem?

THANK YOU

 

[Offroad]

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Offroad.

(1) Could you please tell us your concerns about the tenses?

(2) I guess the tense all depends on what time frame you are

referring to.

(3) Could you please explain the problem?

THANK YOU

I have noticed some verbs do not match/work with certain tenses, e.g.

I am loving it. Not grammatical, but people say it.

So, I would like to know if it is possible to read, e.g

He listens to Norah Jones. <or an album of hers>

Thank you

 

[TheParser]

I have noticed some verbs do not match/work with certain tenses, e.g.

I am loving it. Not grammatical, but people say it.

So, I would like to know if it is possible to read, e.g

He listens to Norah Jones. <or an album of hers>

Thank you

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Offroad.

(1) As I type, no one else has replied, so may I start?

(2) OK. Now I understand.

(3) Yes, you're right. Some verbs cannot be used with

certain tenses.

(4) I think that listen to goes well with the progressive:

Tom: Would you please stop talking so loudly?

Mona: Why?

Tom: I am listening to Madonna.

*****

Mrs. Smith: I am so worried about my daughter.

Mrs. Jones: Why?

Mrs. Smith: She never does her homework. She never helps me

clean the house. She just listens to the Beatles all day.



THANK YOU

P.S. Wow! I just found what I think you are looking for. One of my books

explains the difference between listen to and hear.

If I understand it correctly, you can say I am listening to Madonna

because you are the subject. You are doing something. But you may

not say I am hearing Madonna because you are not the subject doing

something. Instead, you are experiencing something. With such verbs,

the progressive is not acceptable in English.

Thank you for your question. I got a chance to review my own English.

 

[BobK]

Going back to Norah Jones, 'She listens to NJ' and 'She is listening to NJ' have different meanings:

she is listening -> she's doing it now
she listens -> she does it habitually

b

 

[Offroad]

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

I noticed that one of your examples did not involve the word "to" at all, and another had "to" in capitals.

Remember that it's always "listen to" (unless you're using the imperative in which case it's just "Listen!")

 

[BobK]

I noticed that one of your examples did not involve the word "to" at all, and another had "to" in capitals.

Remember that it's always "listen to" (unless you're using the imperative in which case it's just "Listen!")

And it's easy to fit this apparent exception into a general scheme. The imperative "Listen" means 'Listen [to me/him/this/what they say...']"

b