Изнутри дома было слышно музыку.

the house

Breakdown of Изнутри дома было слышно музыку.

• быть: to be
• музыка: the music
• слышно: audible

Questions & Answers about Изнутри дома было слышно музыку.

What does изнутри mean here, and how is it different from внутри?

Изнутри means from the inside / from within. It points to a source or an outward direction.

• изнутри дома = from inside the house
• внутри дома = inside the house

So:

• Изнутри дома было слышно музыку focuses on the music as coming from within the house
• Внутри дома было слышно музыку would mean that inside the house, music could be heard

That is a very important difference.

Why is дома in the genitive case?

Because изнутри can govern the genitive when it is followed by a noun.

So:

• изнутри чего? = from inside what?
• изнутри дома = from inside the house

This is similar to how из also takes the genitive:

• из дома = out of the house / from the house

Here, дома is the genitive singular of дом.

Why is it было слышно and not была слышно or был слышно?