Question

Correct the error, if any, in the underlined part of the sentence.
I cannot listen what she is saying.
A) Hear what
B) Listen for what
C) Listen to that
D) No improvement

Answer 1

Hint: When two or more words have similar meanings, we refer to them as synonyms. These synonyms, though they have similar meanings, are sometimes used differently, i.e. with a preposition.

Complete answer:
In the underlined section we must check for incorrect forms of the word or a missing word or an extra word. The word used is ‘listen’ which is always used with the preposition ‘to’. This preposition is missing in the underlined section. Thus, it is clear that the underlined part is wrong.
Option A) Hear what – ‘Hear’ is a similar word for ‘listen’. But unlike ‘listen’ when we use the word ‘hear’ we do not need to use the preposition ‘to’. Therefore, this option is correct.
Option B) Listen for what – In this option, the word ‘listen’ is followed by the preposition ‘for’ which is incorrect. The correct preposition to be used with ‘listen’ is ‘to’. Thus, this option is incorrect.
Option C) Listen to that – In this option, the word ‘listen’ is followed by the preposition ‘to’ which is correct. After ‘to’ the word used is ‘that’ which is incorrect. The correct phrase should have been, ‘listen to what’. Thus, this option is incorrect.
Option D) No improvement – This option is incorrect because it has already been established
that the correct answer is option (A) Hear what.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (A) Hear what.

Note: We saw in the above question that when we use the word ‘hear’ we do not have to write ‘to’ after it. But when we use the word ‘listen’ we add ‘to’ after it. Another similar example would be “See what your son is doing.” Here we have simply used the word ‘see’. “Look at what your son is doing.” In this sentence we have used ‘look’ but we also have to write ‘to’ after it.