from the test Preposition "sin" (without) - General use (prepositions)

Question

you hear - oyen but can hear is pueden oir, no?

Accepted Answer

Hola Garry
Yes, literally "you hear" would be "oyen", but when we use the perception verbs (oir, escuchar, ver...) in the present, in English it implies the modal verb "can" while in Spanish you don't need it; this is why some of the translations are using in English "can"; this is to make it sound more natural.
For example:

¿Me escuchas? = ¿Puedes escucharme?
Do you hear me? (odd) = Can you hear me? (more natural)

Here is a lesson that talks about this difference in Spanish and English, have a look.
Saludos
Inma