kanozyo ha sumaho wo supiikaa no tikaku ni oite, ongaku wo kiite imasita.

は marks 彼女 as the topic of the sentence.

So 彼女は means something like as for her or she as the person we are talking about.

It does not necessarily emphasize the subject the way が often can. Here, it just sets up the topic naturally:

• 彼女は = as for her / she

を marks the direct object of the verb 置く, which means to place / to put.

So:

• スマホを置いて = putting/placing the smartphone

Even though English might say she put her phone near the speaker, Japanese marks スマホ directly as the thing being placed, so を is the expected particle here.

Because the phone is not being placed on/into the speaker. It is being placed near the speaker.

Breakdown:

• スピーカー = speaker
• の = links nouns, often like of
• 近く = vicinity / near area / nearby place
• に = marks the destination/location where something is placed

So:

• スピーカーの近くに = near the speaker

A helpful way to think about it is:

• X の 近く = the area near X

Here の connects スピーカー and 近く.

It is not exactly possession in the strict English sense. It is more like:

• the vicinity of the speaker
• the area near the speaker

So の is acting as a noun connector:

• スピーカーの近く = the speaker’s vicinity / near the speaker

This pattern is very common:

• 駅の前 = in front of the station
• 家の中 = inside the house
• 机の下 = under the desk

Because 置く is a verb of placement, and に marks the location/destination where something is placed.

So:

• スマホをスピーカーの近くに置く = to place the smartphone near the speaker

With verbs like 置く, 入れる, 座る, and 行く, に often marks the place where something ends up or where someone goes/sits.

置いて is the て-form of 置く. Here it connects two actions:

1. she placed the phone near the speaker
2. she listened to music

So:

• 置いて、音楽を聞いていました means roughly
• she placed the phone near the speaker and was listening to music

The て-form often links actions in sequence. In this sentence, it suggests:

• first she put the phone there
• then she listened to music

Not explicitly, but it often gives that feeling when connecting actions.

The て-form can connect actions in several ways, including:

• sequence
• manner
• accompanying circumstances

In this sentence, the most natural interpretation is sequential:

• she put the phone near the speaker, and then she was listening to music

So and then is a good English understanding, even though Japanese does not use a separate word meaning exactly then here.

聞いていました is the past progressive / past continuous form:

• 聞く = to listen
• 聞いている = be listening
• 聞いていました = was listening

So the sentence describes an ongoing action in the past:

• She was listening to music

If it were 聞きました, it would simply mean:

• She listened to music

That is more like a completed past event, while 聞いていました shows the action was in progress.

In Japanese, 〜ている is used not only for actions happening right now, but also for ongoing activities or states resulting from action.

With 聞く, 聞いている means:

• is listening
• sometimes also listens depending on context

So 聞いていました naturally means:

• was listening

This is very normal Japanese grammar and one of the most common uses of 〜ている.

Sometimes the exact English translation depends on context, but in a basic sentence like this, was listening is the best match.

Japanese tense/aspect does not always line up perfectly with English tense. Depending on the wider context, 聞いていました could sometimes be translated in a way that sounds more natural in English as had been listening, but by itself it is usually understood as:

• was listening

Japanese often leaves relationships implicit when they are easy to understand from context.

In this sentence:

• she placed the smartphone near the speaker
• she was listening to music

The natural inference is that the smartphone was probably the device playing the music. Japanese does not always spell that out if it is obvious enough.

If someone wanted to make it more explicit, they might say something like:

• スマホで音楽を聞いていました = she was listening to music on her smartphone

But the original sentence focuses more on the action of placing the phone near the speaker.

Yes. スマホ is the common shortened form of スマートフォン.

It is extremely common in everyday Japanese and sounds natural in normal conversation.

So:

• スマホ = smartphone / phone

It is not rude; it is just the usual everyday word.

The comma helps separate the two linked actions and makes the sentence easier to read.

Japanese commas are often more flexible than English commas. This comma shows a pause after the first action:

• 置いて、
• then the sentence continues to 音楽を聞いていました

The sentence would still be understandable without the comma, but with it, the flow is clearer.

It can be used in different ways.

In this sentence:

• スピーカーの近く = near the speaker

But 近く can also appear in other patterns, such as:

• 近くにある = is nearby
• 駅の近くに住んでいる = live near the station

So 近く does not always need の. It depends on what it is connected to.

The structure is:

• 彼女は = topic
• スマホを = object of 置く
• スピーカーの近くに = place where the phone was put
• 置いて = put, and...
• 音楽を = object of 聞く
• 聞いていました = was listening

So the overall pattern is:

[Topic] + [object] + [location] + [verb in て-form], + [object] + [main verb]

That gives:

• As for her, she put her smartphone near the speaker and was listening to music.