Are the following sentences both correct? If so, what's the difference?
Hearing the story, John started a bit.
Listening to the story, John started a bit.
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By 'started a bit', do you mean that he was startled by something he heard? If so, hearing would be more appropriate.– Kate BuntingCommented Feb 14, 2021 at 9:19
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Yes, I meant "be startled." The object of "hearing" was "the story." Would "hearing" still be appropriate?– ApollyonCommented Feb 14, 2021 at 12:31
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Yes, I understand that 'the story' is what he heard, but presumably it was one particular thing in it that was startling. To me, 'listening' seems more to refer to the whole time the story was being told.– Kate BuntingCommented Feb 14, 2021 at 13:29
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It seems many people reject the "hearing" version in favor of the "listening" one.– ApollyonCommented Feb 15, 2021 at 2:00
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@KateBunting I could find a few examples of the adverbial use of "Hearing {his, her, the, etc.} story" on GoogleBooks, but most have "after," "upon," or "on" in front.– ApollyonCommented Feb 16, 2021 at 9:37
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Hearing the story seems to imply a finished action, whereas listening to it is a process where some point may have been startling for the man.
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I could find a few examples of the adverbial use of "Hearing {his, her, the, etc.} story" on GoogleBooks, but most have "after," "upon," or "on" in front.– ApollyonCommented Feb 16, 2021 at 9:38