How to Learn English Tenses with “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber
Do you want to improve your English skills in a fun and engaging way? Songs can be a great way to learn and practice English tenses. However, not every song will cover all the tenses. In this article, we will show you how to use “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber to learn and practice the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses.
What are the Simple Present and Simple Past Tenses?
The Simple Present tense is used to talk about habits, general truths, or current situations. For example:
- I like pizza.
- The sky is blue.
- She works as a teacher.
The Simple Past tense is used to talk about past events or actions. For example:
- He visited his grandparents yesterday.
- They watched a movie last night.
- She broke her arm two weeks ago.
How to Learn with the Song
Here are some steps you can follow to learn and practice the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses with the song:
Step 1: Listen to the Song
First, listen to the song multiple times. You can find the song on YouTube or Spotify. Try to pay attention to the lyrics and the tenses used in each line. You can also read the lyrics online or print them out.
Step 2: Identify Simple Present Tense
Next, look for sentences or phrases in the song that use the Simple Present tense. These are usually sentences that describe habits, general truths, or current situations. For example, in the song, you can find these lines:
- If you like the way you look that much
- If you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
- My mama don’t like you, and she likes everyone
Practice forming your own sentences using the Simple Present tense based on the examples in the song. You can write about your own habits, opinions, or situations.
Step 3: Identify Simple Past Tense
Then, find sentences or phrases in the song that use the Simple Past tense. These are usually sentences that refer to past events or actions. For example, in the lyrics, you can see these lines:
- My mama don’t like you, and she likes everyone
- Told you I didn’t need ya
- I’ll be movin’ on
Create your own sentences using the Simple Past tense to practice. You can talk about your own past experiences or events.
Step 4: Lyric Analysis
After that, break down the song’s lyrics to identify the tense in each line. You can even write down the lyrics and highlight or underline the verbs in Simple Present and Simple Past tenses. This will help you see how the tenses are used in different contexts.
Step 5: Create Your Own Sentences
Finally, after identifying the tenses in the song, try creating your own sentences using these tenses. You can use the song as a reference and inspiration. For example, for Simple Present, you can write sentences like:
- I don’t care what they say about you
- You always make me smile
- He plays guitar very well
For Simple Past, you can write sentences like:
- We met at a party last week
- She gave me a beautiful gift
- He left without saying goodbye
How to Practice Regularly
Regular practice is key to mastering tenses. Use the song as a reference and keep practicing with different examples. You can also listen to other songs that use these tenses and repeat the steps above. Some examples of songs that use Simple Present and Simple Past tenses are:
- “Someone Like You” by Adele
- “Yesterday” by The Beatles
- “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
How to Use Grammar Resources
In addition to songs, you can also use grammar resources, textbooks, or online tutorials to supplement your learning. These resources can provide detailed explanations and more examples of English tenses. Some examples of grammar resources are:
- English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy
- Englishpage.com
- British Council LearnEnglish
Remember that songs may not cover all tenses comprehensively. To get a more well-rounded understanding of English tenses, you might want to explore other songs and resources that cover other tenses like Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Past Continuous, etc. Additionally, practice speaking and writing in English to reinforce your grasp of tenses in various contexts.
We hope this article has helped you learn how to use “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber to learn and practice English tenses. Happy learning!
About Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is a Canadian singer. A manager discovered him through a video
posted on YouTube in 2008. During his famous life, he has had ups and downs.
Love Yourself is one of his great and latest hits. It looks like he has found again
the way to success.
Activities
1 – Listen and put the sentences in the correct
order:
( ) You think you broke my heart, oh, girl for goodness’ sake
( ) And all the clubs you get in using my name
( ) You think I’m crying on my own. Well, I ain’t
( ) For all the times that you rain on my parade
2 – Circle the correct word:
And I didn’t wanna BRIGHT / WRITE a song
‘Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I STILL / WILL care. I don’t,
But you still hit my phone up
And, baby, I be movin’ on
And I THING / THINK you should be somethin’ I don’t wanna hold back,
Maybe you SHOULD / MUST know that
3 – Complete with the missing words:
My mama don’t like you and she likes _
And I never like to ____that I was wrong And I’ve been so caught up in my ____,
Didn’t see what’s going on
But now I know,
I’m better __ on my own
41
Song – Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
Listening Activities Songs – Captain English Songs 2017
4 – Cross out the extra word:
CHORUS:
‘Cause if you like the way you don’t look that much
Oh, baby girl, you should go and love yourself
And if you still think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
You should not go and love yourself
5 – Put the sentences in the correct order:
( ) And every time you told me my opinion was wrong
( ) The only problem was with you and not them
( ) And tried to make me forget where I came from
( ) And when you told me that you hated my friends
6 – Circle the correct word:
And I didn’t wanna BRIGHT / WRITE a song
‘Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I STILL / WILL care. I don’t,
But you still hit my phone up
And, baby, I be movin’ on
And I THING / THINK you should be somethin’ I don’t wanna hold back,
Maybe you SHOULD / MUST know that
7 – Complete with the missing words
Song – Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
Listening Activities Songs – Captain English Songs 2017
My mama don’t like you and she likes _
And I never like to ____that I was wrong And I’ve been so caught up in my ____,
Didn’t see what’s going on
But now I know,
I’m better __ on my own
REPEAT CHORUS
For all the times that you made me feel small
I fell in love. Now I feel nothin’ at all
And never felt so low when I was vulnerable
Was I a fool to let you break down my walls?
REPEAT CHORUS
8 – All the sentences below are in the past tense. Can
you change them into the present tense?
a) Was I a fool to let you break down my walls?
b) For all the times that you made me feel small.
c) Because I didn’t want anyone thinking I still care.
d) And tried to make me forget where I came from.
e) And when you told me that you hated my friends
Song – Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
Listening Activities Songs – Captain English Songs 2017 ©
9 – Relate the words to their meaning:
a) hold back ( ) A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or
harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.
b) fool ( ) Develop a deep romantic attachment to
someone.
c) break down ( ) Hesitate to act or speak
d) problem ( ) A silly person.
e) fall in love ( ) Lose control of one’s emotions when in a state of distress.
10 – To ask questions in the simple past, you must
use the auxiliary Verb ‘DID’. Don’t forget when you
ask a question in the past tense, the Spelling of the
verb is in the infinitive form, without ‘to’.
a) You tried to make forget where I came from.
b) You made me feel small.
c) You told me that you hated my friends.
d) You broke my heart.
Song – Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
Listening Activities Songs – Captain English Songs 2017
11 – Now let’s change these same sentences into the
negative form. In the simple past tense, use the
auxiliary verb ‘didn’t’ to change a sentence into
negative. The main verb is also spelling in the
infinitive form, without ‘to’.
a) You tried to make forget where I came from.
b) You made me feel small.
c) You told me that you hated my friends.
d) You broke my heart.
