hark
hark — verb
- harkpresent simple I / you / we / they
- harkshe / she / it
- harkedpast simple
- harking-ing form
1. an old word used as a command, telling someone to pay attention and listen caref
an old word used as a command, telling someone to pay attention and listen carefully to a sound or to what another person is saying
Hark! I hear the old church bells ringing in the distance.
imperative exclamation 'Hark!'
Hark at those children — they sound like they are having a wonderful time.
collocation: hark at [someone/something]
"Hark," said Beatrix to the children, "and I will tell you a strange story."
Hark to the wind howling through the trees outside the cottage.
Grandmother Tariro smiled and said, "Hark! The night birds have begun to sing."
- listen
the modern, everyday equivalent used in all contexts
- pay attention
functional equivalent, broader in meaning but can replace 'hark' in most imperative uses
- hearken
even more archaic variant of the same Old English root, found in literary and biblical texts
文法句型
hark + exclamation
hark at + noun phrase
hark to + noun phrase
用法筆記
Almost exclusively used in the imperative. Common in historical fiction, poetry, and solemn or formal literary speech. The phrase hark at [someone/something] can express amused or ironic attention to what someone is saying, while hark to [sound] directs attention to a specific noise.