Hears

Hears is the third-person singular present tense of the English verb hear. It denotes that a subject perceives a sound at the moment or in a general present context, as in “She hears a knock at the door.”

Etymology and related forms: The verb hear comes from Old English hǣran or hǣran, with cognates in other Germanic languages such as German hören and Dutch horen. The form hears follows the regular pattern for adding -s in the third-person singular present tense. Other common forms include hear (base), heard (past tense and past participle), and hearing (present participle/gerund).

Usage and examples: The base forms are hear, hears, heard, and hearing. Examples: “He hears the wind through the trees.” “The audience hears the speaker clearly.” In usage, hears is restricted to singular third-person subjects: “The cat hears something outside,” but “I hear,” “you hear,” or “they hear” use the base form or corresponding pronouns.

Meaning and nuance: Hear refers to the perception of sound, which can be passive and can occur without deliberate attention. Listen, by contrast, implies paying deliberate attention to sounds. Phrases such as “hear of” (to become aware of something) or “hear out” (to listen to someone fully) expand its usage in everyday language.

Related terms: In legal and linguistic contexts, “hearsay” refers to information received secondhand and is a distinct term from the verb form. Hears as a word form is primarily a grammatical instance rather than a specialized concept.