Spanish language Q&A Forum

In English, "to hear" is a passive act to the person.  It happens to them, whether they wanted it to or not.   "To listen" is an active effort by the person. "If one listens well, he will hear it."  The Spanish dictionary says that "oir" is to hear.  However, "escuchar" can mean "to listen" or "to hear".  Is that correct?

"La escuché cantando" could mean "I listened to her singing" or "I heard her singing".  ??

Is that right?

Thanks

 Even with the adjusted text I don't get the joke at all either.

One of the links above (Ser or Estar?) talks about DOCTOR CLIF. DOCTOR for "ser" includes description, origin, character, time, occupation, and RELATIONSHIP. Is that wrong or am I missing something?

In terms of usage, can había considered to be the the past tense of hay? Había  =There was' vs. Hay = 'there is'?

I'm quite confused regarding 'borrow' and 'lend' in Spanish.

I wonder if it's because I've been learning Spanish from a Latin American source and have learned various ways to say 'to borrow' and 'to lend' using such things as 'prestar', 'pedir prestado' and 'tomar prestado'. Grammatically I understand how these phrases work, but they only seem to imply borrow/lend, and I've never been entirely comfortable using any of them!

I.O.P + dejar as used in Spain is quite new to me... and it actually makes sense straight away!

So, I'm interested to know if 'prestar' is used at all in Spain, and if so, how?  

BTW, as there seems to be no exact equivalent to borrow and lend between English and Spanish many people get confused by it. A separate lesson on the subject would be a great addition to the Kwiziq library imo ;)

Saludos 

I had never heard that before.So, I can retract my question.