Entertainment

Lyrics: Maniac

Listening 5 min Lyrics Intermediate

Vocabulary - 16 contextual words

Grammar - Present Perfect

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.

In today’s session we bring you Maniac by Michael Sembello. Originally, this song was written as a theme for a horror movie about a cat-killing maniac. However, after making some lyrics changes, the song was finally used in the 1983 film Flashdance. The catchy rhythm will have you foot stomping. Enjoy it!

Exercise

Fill in the missing words: – She – dancing – gift – Never- stays – work – like – place – will – cut – dancing – dance – beat – one – into – girl. ⇩

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

Grammar

Present perfect (affirmative)

We make the present perfect when we add have + past participle of a verb.

We use the present perfect to talk about something that began in the past and continues in the present:
Brett has worked here for two weeks.
We have lived on this street for twelve years.

We also use the present perfect to talk about our experience until just now:
I have listened to this song already!
We‘ve seen that film before.
Christina has played piano since she was a child.
My wife has been pregnant for seven months now.

In these cases, to make an affirmative statement with the present perfect we place the subject + have + verb, and then we often place a prepositional phrase (for six months, already, in this city).

We can use the present perfect when we talk about something that happened in the past but is now important in the present:
Kelsey won’t answer your messages, she has left the office.
I’ve lost my cell phone, so I can’t call you.

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