# listen to sb/sth

CEFR A1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/listen-to-sb-sth
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

To give your attention to a sound, or to someone who is speaking. You use your ears to hear what is being said or played.

For teachers: To direct one's auditory attention towards a sound source. This is a prepositional verb; 'listen' is intransitive and requires the preposition 'to' to take an object.

## Examples

- I listen to music in the car.
- The children sat quietly and listened to the story.
- She would often sit by the window, listening to the rain and thinking about the choices she had made.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He is listening the radio." but "He is listening to the radio." — The verb 'listen' always requires the preposition 'to' before its object.

## Usage notes

- The object is the sound, person, or medium (like a podcast or the radio) that you are paying attention to.
- Teaching tip: Contrast with 'hear', which is about the ability to perceive sound, whereas 'listen to' is the intentional act of paying attention to it.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.