I came across the following nuance recently...

Question

'Je ne peux pas entendre' versus 'Je n'entends pas' . Do these 2 sentences translate differently as the 1st indicates there is an external reason for not hearing (music too soft), while the 2nd indicates an inherent hearing loss  (deafness)? Does this apply to other Modal verbs? If so, examples really help with understanding. Thanks in advance.

Accepted Answer

Hi Andrea, 
I don't think this disability is inferred in je n'entends pas .
We speak of 'entendants' ( hearing) and 'malentendants' ( hard of hearing).
If you say speaking to children for instance :
Je ne peux pas entendre la télévision, vous faîtes tellement de bruit = I can't hear the television you are making so much noise 
You could probably say -
Je ne vous entends pas bien, vous pouvez répéter ? = I can't hear you could you repeat?
or 
Je ne veux pas vous entendre = I don't want to hear you
This last example using another modal verb.
To express 'surdité' ( deafness) you might say -

J'entends mal d'une oreille = I can't hear with one ear
Je suis malentendant = I am hard of hearing 
Je suis sourd = I am deaf

or even
J'entends mal = I dont hear very well
Just be aware that sometimes the verb 'entendre' means to intend -
Je n'entends pas lui répondre = I don't intend to answer him/her
Hope this helps!