Teach Continuous tenses using songs

Here is a list of songs that can be used to practice Continuous tenses.

How lyrics can be used in the lesson?- to present the topic - to practise new target grammar- to revise the grammar structure.

If you want to use our worksheets for higher levels, upgrade the task. Every worksheet contains lyrics with target grammar structure, a link to the video and some questions for discussion.

Present ContinuousElementary+

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Complete the gaps using the Present Continuous. Listen and check

I am sailing (Rod Stewart)

music video

I____ (sail)I ____ (sail)Home again'Cross the seaI ____ (sail)Stormy watersTo be near youTo be free

I ____ (fly)I ____ (fly)Like a bird'Cross the skyI ____ (fly)Passing high cloudsTo be with youTo be free

Can you hear me, can you hear meThrough the dark night, far awayI ____(die), forever cryingTo be with you, who can say

Discuss!

1. Where do you think the singer is sailing home from?2. Why does he sing ‘I am dying, forever crying?’

Can you hear me, can you hear meThrough the dark night far awayI____(die), forever cryingTo be with you, who can say

We _____(sail), we _____(sail)Home again'Cross the seaWe _____(sail)Stormy watersTo be near youTo be free

Oh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Complete the gaps with the verbs. Then listen and check.searching waiting looking trying(x2) standing listening

Present ContinuousElementary+

music video

Discuss!

1. How does the singer feel?2. Why does the singer want to be with someone who she doesn’t know?

I’m with you (Avril Lavigne)I'm _____on a bridgeI'm _____ in the darkI thought that you'd be here by nowThere's nothing but the rainNo footsteps on the groundI'm _____but there's no sound

Isn't anyone ____to find me?Won't somebody come take me homeIt's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with you

I'm ____for a placeI'm _____for a faceIs anybody here I knowCause nothing’s going rightAnd everything's a messAnd no one likes to be alone

Isn't anyone ____ to find me?Won't somebody come take me homeIt's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with you

Oh why is everything so confusingMaybe I'm just out of my mindYea yea yeaIt's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with youTake me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with you... I'm with you

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Listen and correct mistakes in the song.

Present ContinuousElementary+

music video

Discuss!

1. Is the singer sad because she is falling for another person?2. Do you think they know each other well?

Simply falling (Iyeoka)There goes my heart againAll of this time I thought we were pretendingNothing looks the same when your eyes are openNow you play these games to keep my heartbeat spinningYou show me love, you show me loveYou show me everything my heart is capable ofYou reshape me like butterfly origami-yeahYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I simply falling for you

I'm take time to envision where your heart isAnd justify why you're gone for the momentI tumble sometimes, looking for sunshineAnd you know this is right when you look into my eyesYou show me love, you show me loveYou show me everything my heart is capable ofAnd now I can't break away from this fire that we started

You have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I simply falling for you,

There my heart goes againIn your arms I fall deeperAnd there's nothing to break me away from thisYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I simply fallingYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I simply falling for you

There my heart goes againYou have broken into my heartOh I'm falling deeper, I'm falling deeper

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Listen to the song and put the lines in the correct order.

Present Perfect ContinuousIntermediate +

music video

Discuss!

1. What does it mean “to wait in the shadows”? Why does a person wait in the shadows?2. Have you been living for tomorrows all your life?

In The Shadows (The Rasmus)No sleep until I am done with finding the answerNo sleepWon't stopI know that I am haunted to be wantedSomehowSometimesWon't stop before I find a cure for this cancerI feel like going down and so disconnected

For tomorrows all my lifeI've been waitingI've been watchingIn the shadows for my timeI've been livingI've been searching

In the shadows

But ISomehowThey say

SometimesThat I must learn to kill before I can feel safeI just don't wanna stay and wait for a wonderI'd rather kill myself than turn into their slaveI feel that I should go and play with the thunder

For tomorrows all my lifeI've been waitingI've been watchingIn the shadows for my timeI've been livingI've been searching

Feel me touch me heal me, come take me higherLately I been walking walking in circles, watching waiting for something

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Listen and complete the gaps.

Past Continuous and Present Perfect ContinuousIntermediate +

music video

Discuss!

1. What has the singer been waiting for too long?2. What regrets does the singer have?

Too long (Yael Naim)I waited for so longOutside myselfYou see I _____ _____To be someone elseI ______ _____ to seeWho I wanted to be

And I've _____ ______ on my ownI've _____ _____ for too longNot strong enough to be with youAnd I've been making up my worldI've ____ ____ it with goldNot strong enough to see you

I irrigate illusionsThen let them growHow can I pacify myself?And let goAnd I ran wild to seeWho I turned out to be

I've _____ _____ on my ownI've _____ _____ on my own

But it was too coldIn my world, my world

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Underline the verbs in the Present Continuous, Future Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous. Why are these forms used in this song?

Present Continuous, Future Continuous and Present Perfect ContinuousIntermediate +

music video

Discuss!

1. Do you agree with a quote ‘Everything that kills me makes me feel alive’? Do you have the same equiva-lent of this saying in your language?2. Would you rather count dollars or count stars?

Counting stars (OneRepublic)Lately I been, I been losing sleepDreaming about the things that we could beBut baby I been, I been prayin' hardSaid no more counting dollarsWe'll be counting starsYeah, we'll be counting stars

I see this lifeLike a swinging vineSwing my heart across the lineIn my faces flashing signsSeek it out and ye shall findThe old, but I'm not that oldYoung, but I'm not that boldAnd I don't think the world is soldI'm just doing what we're told

I, feel something so rightDoing the wrong thingI, feel something so wrongBut doing the right thingI could lie, could lie, could lieEverything that kills me makes me feel alive

Lately I been, I been losing sleepDreaming 'bout the things that we could beBaby I been, I been prayin' hardSaid no more counting dollarsWe'll be counting stars

I feel the loveAnd I feel it burnDown this river every turnHope is a four letter wordMake that moneyWatch it burnOld, but I'm not that oldYoung, but I'm not that boldAnd I don't think the world is soldI'm just doing what we're toldI, feel something so wrongBut doing the right thingI could lie, could lie, could lieEverything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

Lately I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could beBaby I been, I been prayin' hardSaid no more counting dollarsWe'll be counting stars

Take that money and watch it burnSink in the river the lessons I learnedTake that money and watch it burnSink in the river the lessons I learnedTake that money and watch it burnSink in the river the lessons I learnedTake that money and watch it burnSink in the river the lessons I learnedEverything that kills me makes me feel alive

Lately I been, I been losing sleepDreaming 'bout the things that we could beBaby I been, I been prayin' hardSaid no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars

Do you know any other songs which contain the examples of Continuous tenses? Share with us in the comments below! What other grammar structures would you like to practice?

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Key:

I am sailing (Rod Stewart)

I am sailingI am sailingHome again'Cross the seaI am sailingStormy watersTo be near youTo be free

I am dying, forever cryingTo be with you, who can say

We are sailing, we are sailingHome again'Cross the seaWe are sailingStormy watersTo be near youTo be free

Can you hear me, can you hear meThrough the dark night, far awayI am dying, forever cryingTo be with you, who can say

Can you hear me, can you hear meThrough the dark night far away

Oh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord, to be near you, to be freeOh Lord

I am flyingI am flyingLike a bird'Cross the skyI am flyingPassing high cloudsTo be with youTo be free

I’m with you (Avril Lavigne)

I'm standing on a bridgeI'm waiting in the darkI thought that you'd be here by nowThere's nothing but the rainNo footsteps on the groundI'm listening but there's no sound

Isn't anyone trying to find me?Won't somebody come take me homeIt's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with you

I'm looking for a placeI'm searching for a faceIs anybody here I knowCause nothing’s going rightAnd everything's a messAnd no one likes to be alone

Isn't anyone trying to find me?Won't somebody come take me home

It's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with you

Oh why is everything so confusingMaybe I'm just out of my mindYea yea yeaIt's a damn cold nightTrying to figure out this lifeWon't you take me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with youTake me by the handTake me somewhere newI don't know who you areBut I, I'm with youI'm with you

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Key:

Simply falling (Iyeoka)

There goes my heart againAll of this time I thought we were pretendingNothing looks the same when your eyes are openNow you're playing these games to keep my heartbeat spinningYou show me love, you show me loveYou show me everything my heart is capable ofYou reshape me like butterfly origami-yeahYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I am simply falling for you

I'm taking time to envision where your heart isAnd justify why you're gone for the momentI tumble sometimes, looking for sunshineAnd you know this is right when you look into my eyesYou show me love, you show me loveYou show me everything my heart is capable ofAnd now I can't break away from this fire that we startedYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I am simply falling for you,

There my heart goes againIn your arms I'm falling deeperAnd there's nothing to break me away from thisYou have broken into my heartThis time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I am simply fallingYou have broken into my heart

This time I feel the blues have departedNothing can keep me away from this feelingI know I am simply falling for you

There my heart goes againYou have broken into my heartOh I'm falling deeper, I'm falling deeper

Created by Yulia Belonog for Skyteach

Key:

In The Shadows (The Rasmus)

No sleepNo sleep until I am done with finding the answerWon't stopWon't stop before I find a cure for this cancerSometimesI feel like going down and so discon-nectedSomehowI know that I am haunted to be wanted

I've been watchingI've been waitingIn the shadows for my timeI've been searchingI've been livingFor tomorrows all my life

In the shadows

They sayThat I must learn to kill before I can feel safeBut I

Too long (Yael Naim)

I waited for so longOutside myselfYou see I was pretendingTo be someone elseI was longing to seeWho I wanted to be

And I've been waiting on my ownI've been waiting for too longNot strong enough to be with youAnd I've been making up my worldI've been painting it with goldNot strong enough to see you

I irrigate illusionsThen let them growHow can I pacify myself?And let goAnd I ran wild to seeWho I turned out to be

I've been waiting on my ownI've been waiting on my ownBut it was too coldIn my world, my world

Counting stars (OneRepublic)

Present Continuous - I'm just doing Future Continuous - We'll be counting starsPresent Perfect Continuous - I been, I been losing sleep, I been, I been prayin' hard

I'd rather kill myself than turn into their slaveSometimesI feel that I should go and play with the thunderSomehowI just don't wanna stay and wait for a wonder

I've been watchingI've been waitingIn the shadows for my timeI've been searchingI've been livingFor tomorrows all my life

Lately I been walking walking in circles, watching waiting for somethingFeel me touch me heal me, come take me higher