ongaku o kiku to, sutoresu ga sukoshi herimasu.

When I listen to music, my stress decreases a little.

Breakdown of ongaku o kiku to, sutoresu ga sukoshi herimasu.

• を: direct object particle
• が: subject particle
• 音楽おんがく: music
• 聞きく: to listen

Questions & Answers about ongaku o kiku to, sutoresu ga sukoshi herimasu.

Why is the verb 聞く in dictionary form (聞く) and not polite form (聞きます) even though the sentence ends politely with 減ります?

In Japanese, when you use verb (dictionary form) + と to mean “when / whenever / if [someone] does X, Y happens”, the verb before と must be in plain (dictionary) form, not in ます-form.

So:

• 音楽を聞くと、ストレスが少し減ります。 ✅
• 音楽を聞きますと、ストレスが少し減ります。 ❌ (sounds wrong / unnatural in everyday speech)

You can still mix plain and polite forms inside the same sentence:

• Clause before と: 聞く (plain form required by the grammar pattern)
• Main clause: 減ります (polite ます-form)

This is completely normal in Japanese. The politeness level is determined mainly by the final verb form of the sentence (here: 減ります), so the whole sentence is polite.

---

What does 〜と do here? Is it “and”, “when”, or “if”?