Hiya. Yeah, 'listen for' is fine. A lot of intransitive verbs can go with different prepositions. 'Listen to' means you actually hear something; 'listen for' means you are expecting to hear something. A (hopefully) clear example: You're about to run a race, and the official fires the starting gun. 'Listening to' the starting gun would make no sense - it's such a quick sound! You hear it, but you can't listen to it. Instead, while you're waiting, what you're doing is 'listening for' the sound - ie. you're expecting it and waiting to hear it. Hope that's clear. Matt

"listen for" is fine. to make is easy, it is the "listen" version of "look for". let´s say we are lost in a forest, I would tell you "be quiet for minute, we need to listen for the river and walk it downstream". cheers!

It’s right

"Listening for" and "listening to" both work but have different meanings. "Listening to" refers just to the fact that you are listening to something. "Listening for" refers to the fact that you are listening and trying to hear something in particular. Earlier an example was given in regards to listening for the starting gun. This means you are listening and trying to hear the sound of the starting gun. Unlike what was suggested listening to the starting gun is possible. For example one can say, "Listening to the sound of the starting gun the runners took off from the starting blocks and ran down the track." Alternatively, one could say "Hearing the sound of the starting gun the runners took off from the starting blocks and ran down the track."

I can't remember the Spanish expression and don't know Portuguese, but the Italian equivalent is 'tendere l'orecchio'. Perhaps that's similar enough for you to pick up on it.