Expression: "I could hear the music playing."

Tom · Tue Jun 03, 2008 19:40 pm *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi

Do you find the following sentence correct and natural--I mean the red part?

nessie · Tue Jun 03, 2008 19:47 pm *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi Tom,
I'm not a native speaker, but I find the red part really odd. The music can't do the playing itself, right?
So i suggest changing it into:

I could hear the music being played in your room so I assumed that you were in
or
I could hear the music played in your room so I assumed that you were in

(I also think the former is better than the latter)

SkiIucK · Tue Jun 03, 2008 21:39 pm *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Sounds perfectly fine to me, though I am not native. Embarassed

nessie · Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:28 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Differnt ideas. Razz

Well, I've just had a look in the BNC and found no results for "heard music playing" but 23 results for "music playing". Anyway, since neither of us is a native speaker, we can just wait for some native speakers' ideas Smile

Yankee · Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:59 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi Tom

I'd only ask whether you want to say 'heard the music playing' or 'heard music playing' in your sentence.
.
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

Tom · Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:49 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Sorry, Amy, "the" is not there.

So what is your take on "heard music playing"?

Tom

Yankee · Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:05 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

.
That sounds fine to me, Tom.
.
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

lost_soul · Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:12 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Tom · Wed Jun 04, 2008 17:30 pm *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi Alex

If we look at the rest of the sentence so I assumed that you were in, we will have to omit the in the given sentence. There thrust of the sentence is on "music playing" and "the person's being in the room".

Tom

lost_soul · Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:04 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi, Tom

Thank you, but I'd rather that Amy answered my question Wink

nessie · Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:22 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Yankee · Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:15 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

lost_soul · Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:42 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Yankee · Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:47 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hi Nessie

To me, saying 'I could hear music playing' in Tom's sentence is similar to saying something such as 'I could smell cookies baking.' Cookies don't actually bake themselves. And if you want to get really technical, a person can't bake cookies either. Technically speaking, it is the heat of an oven that bakes cookies, and a person only causes this to happen.

In Tom's sentence, 'I could hear music playing' suggests to me that the sound was coming from something such as a CD in a CD player. It does not suggest that someone in the room was playing a musical instrument, for example. It suggests that someone in the room had caused a device to produce sound.
.
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

Molly · Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:01 am *Expression: "I could hear the music playing."*

Hey girl whatcha doin down there
dancing alone every nite while I live rite above you
I can hear your music playin
I can feel your body swayin
one floor below me you don't even know me
I love you

chorus

Oh my darlin
knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
twice on the pipe if the answer is no

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