Improve your listening and writing skills by filling in the blanks in the song lyrics. These activities are designed for Beginners and Intermediates to learn new vocabulary related to a specific topic in a quick and fun way.
To celebrate World Kindness Day, this week we are proposing songs that refer to this important human value. Today, an oldie ballad sung by a young and current singer. Katie Melua, a Georgian-British musician and songwriter, performs this shorter version of the classic song Bridge Over Troubled Water. The original 5-minute song is by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, it was their biggest single hit and is still considered their signature song.
Bridge Over Troubled Water is a beautiful metaphor about strong friendship and unconditional support. The singer tells the friend, when you are low and struggling, I will be there for you “like a bridge over troubled water” to help “ease your mind.”
Katie Melua’s clear intonation in her 3-minute adaption makes this a great exercise. Enjoy!
Exercise
Fill in the missing words ⇩: bridge – darkness – ease – lay – mind – Sail – shine – tears – troubled – weary
This activity is case sensitive so make sure to use capital letters when needed.
Grammar – Contractions 
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Contractions
- CONTRACTIONS allow us to give more information in less time. They make speech smoother, and are less formal.
- We use APOSTROPHES ( ‘ ) to create them: I’m, you’re, he/she/it’s, they’re, we’re, -‘ve, -‘s, -d, and -n’t.
- We often use CONTRACTIONS with AUXILLARY VERBS (TO BE/TO DO/TO HAVE):
- -When you’re weary. (Lyrics)
- –I’m on your side. (Lyrics)
- Formal: Good afternoon, I am Sam Wainwright.
- Informal: Hi, I’m Sam Wainwright.
- Formal: Please excuse me, I have a meeting at six o’clock.
- Informal: Sorry, I’ve got a a meeting at six
- Formal: She is Elizabeth, the Queen of England.
- Informal: She’s Liz, my friend from college.
- We also use CONTRACTIONS with NOT.
- Remember, we don’t normally use two CONTRACTIONS together (NOT
I’ven’t!“I’ve not” OR “I haven’t”): - –I’m not excited about this.
- –He’s not Ishmael, he’s Abraham. / He isn’t Ishmael, he’s Abraham.
- –I don’t eat meat
- –She doesn’t like exercising.
- –We don’t play tennis.
- –She’s not got an extra pen. / She hasn’t got an extra pen.
- –Haven’t you got a minute?
- –I haven’t got time to help you.
- The CONTRACTION “-d” is used for WOULD/COULD/SHOULD.
- We often use the polite form “I’d like ______” (I would like) to say “I want ______” in a more polite way or to talk about our desires.
- The structure is SUBJECT+-‘D+LIKE/PREFER+VERB/OBJECT:
- –I’d like some ice cream.
- –I’d like to rest for a few minutes.
- –He’d like a normal suit, nothing fancy.
- –She’d like a more relaxing job.
- –We’d like a room with a good view of the city.
- –They’d like to exercise in the morning, but they don’t have time.
Don’t miss our latest song lyric activities. By creating a habit step-by-step, you will be able to shape your learning path while doing activities you love.
Which song would you like to practise with next?
I remember many songs from my youth time when my English was bad,and Simon & Garfunkel were one of my favourite duo,but now I heard the version of the “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by
Katie Melua and I had the lyrics of their song,it was a short copied of it.But there were many lyrics of songs in English to know all the letters,by now I found one of them .Sunny thanks to your lyrics of beautiful songs of my youth time
A beautiful ballad. It remembers me my best friend who always helped me, in spite of all the problems involving my personality. Thank you, Sunny!
What a beautiful song! When I listen to this song I feel some kind of calm. Thanks !
I love this song
Uau!!!