Entertainment

Lyrics: I Say a Little Prayer

Listening 5 min Lyrics Intermediate

Vocabulary - 14 contextual words

Grammar - A lot/ a little/ a few

Pronunciation - American

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.

For this week’s lyrics we bring you the famous song I Say a Little Prayer by the great soul and blues singer Aretha Franklin.

Franklin and background vocalists The Sweet Inspirations were singing the song for fun while rehearsing the songs intended for the album when the viability of their recording “I Say a Little Prayer” became apparent, significantly re-invented from the format of the Dionne Warwick original via the prominence of Clayton Ivey’s piano work.

Exercise

Fill in the missing words: Forever – dear – little – Answer – now – believe – prayer – without – must – love – heartbreak – love – coffe – Together. ⇩

This activity is case sensitive so make sure to use capital letters when needed.

Grammar

A lot/a little/a few

We use quantifiers to talk about amount, degree, and quantity.

A lot of, lots of, a few, a little, many, and much are common quantifiers. We use quantifiers with a noun or pronoun:
Suzie has lots of pets.
A lot of tourists visit this city.
Michael has a few friends.
I am busy, but I have a little time to help you.
There are many rooms in that hotel.

We can use quantifiers in a negative way as well, with not/n’t.
Not/n’t goes with the verb/auxiliary verb in these sentences. It is not common to use not/n’t with little or few:
There isn’t a lot of space in the car.
I don’t have much money.
She doesn’t have lots of cousins.
Not a few of my friends play that game, also.

We can make questions and negative questions with quantifiers also.
Remember, we use negative questions to express doubt, ask for confirmation, and make polite offers:
Do you own a lot of books?
Are there lots of children in his family?
Haven’t you got a few minutes to talk?
Aren’t many of her cousins rich?
Do I need much time to finish this homework?