listen to hear

Question

As I listened to hear the first note of the melody of the world I closed my eyes and focused on that first sound, but what I heard came not from the world ...What's the meaning of listen to hear?Thanks.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I think it's dumb - redundant at best. IMHO, the only time you listen to hear is when you don't know when the thing you're listening for is going to begin; or when you're not sure if you're going to hear it at all.

"As I waited to hear the first note of the melody," would make more sense.

OR "As I listened to the beginning / opening notes of the melody,"

New2grammar · Answer

How about " I pressed my ear to the door and listened to hear if my neighbor had come home"?

Avangi · Answer

New2grammarHow about " I pressed my ear to the door and listened to hear if my neighbor had come home"?

It doesn't sound right to me. "Listened to hear" is quite uncommon. Comparing it to "looked to see," the word "see" in this case usually means "to find out" or "to discover."

Ironically, in your example I would prefer to say, "I pressed my ear to the door and listened to see of my neighbor had come home.

New2grammar · Answer

HAHAHA. Thanks Avangi for your reply and giving another example of irony. It took me a while to figure out why it's ironic.

listen to hear

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