A perpetual confusion rages between the two often used verbs in English: Listen and Hear. The other day my neighbour's 8-year-old daughter was excitedly describing an attempt to robbery in the apartment below theirs. Needless to say, it was an extraordinarily unique experience for her. She began: "Just before going to bed, I listened a noise and told Mom to look..." I instinctively corrected her with "You heard a noise, you mean?" She looked at me, baffled, not knowing how it mattered whether she said listened or heard ... in effect they mean the same. Not wanting to curb her excitement, I just nodded my head and signalled her to continue. I would explain to her some other day. But here is how it goes. When you hear something, it is usually by chance, and you haven't been expecting it. For example, you hear a noise, you hear a piece of news or you hear the thunder. On the other hand, when you listen to something, you choose to pay attention. It i...
Have you ever wondered why the boxing arena is called a boxing ring, while it is always a square bound area? Or why is the fruit called a pineapple when there is no pine, nor apple in it? Wait, there's more... we often 'ship' goods in a truck whereas send 'cargo' by ship. Our feet often smell while our noses run... making us wonder if these organs are doing what they are supposed to? English has borrowed words from several languages, but doesn’t it make you think: why did they need so many words with the similar meaning? For example, listen and hear ? Noise and sound ? Then again, how do you explain that if many goose is geese then why isn't many moose, meese ? Poor IIIrd graders have always been stumped on this one! There are plenty such anomalies in English, which make the language just as interesting as tough to master! There are rules... solid, detailed rules for all the components that make up the language, but it is the exceptions that add the surprise...