Hey there! This is TOP episode 174. Learn English with Ariana Grande ‘Santa Tell Me’
My name’s Ola and I’m an English teacher. I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. You can speak English with more confidence, slay that fear and enjoy easy communication.
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Hello there! Thank you for pressing play and inviting me to spend some time with you. It’s gonna be Christmassy today. We’ve got plenty of phrases and example sentences so that you can use the words from ‘Santa Tell Me’ in your everyday communication in English.
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“Santa Tell Me” was Ariana Grande’s 2014 festive single from her first EP “Christmas Kisses”. Grande said that she did not want to do a Christmas song at first, but changed her mind, and how the track was her favourite Christmas song out of all the ones she had recorded so far. She also said that it’s sort of about being fed up with Santa because he doesn’t necessarily pull through all the time. Now, let’s jump into the lyrics. Listen to each line of the chorus and repeat it:
Santa, tell me if you’re really there
Don’t make me fall in love again
If he won’t be here next year
Santa, tell me if he really cares
‘Cause I can’t give it all away
If he won’t be here next year
Fall in love again – To fall in love. ‘To fall’ is an irregular verb, fall – fell – fallen. The past of ‘fall’ is ‘fell’ not ‘felt’. Fall – fell – fallen. Let me give you a few synonyms for ‘fall in love’:
To fall for someone. They fell for each other instantly.
To have a crush on someone. Do you think Ana has a crush on me?
To fall head over heels for someone. I immediately fell head over heels for his brother.
Tell me if he really cares – tell me if. Tell me whether he really cares. Let’s hear this expression in other phrases:
Tell me whether you enjoyed the show.
Tell me if you need anything.
Tell me if you wanna go home.
To give it all away – To give something to someone for free. She doesn’t want to engage in this relationship if she is ins;t sure he will stay with her for good. She doesn’t want to give everything, invest emotionally in this person and then lose it all. Another example:
I wish I hadn’t given away all my old video games.
I can’t give it all away if he won’t be here – Once again but from a different angle. Here’s our conditional sentence. You’ll find the links to all podcast episodes on conditional sentences in the show notes to this episode. Shownotes are available at teacherola.com/174. Well, this sentence is not correct. I can’t give it all away if he won’t be here should be fixed and if you are able to fix that mistake let me know what the correct sentence is. Comment or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook or email me: contact@teacherola.com. Let’s move on.
Listen to the first verse and repeat it out loud. I know you’re tempted to say these words in your head or to whisper them but that’s a no-go. You gotta say them out loud so that you can hear your voice. Let’s do it:
Feeling Christmas all around
And I’m trying to play it cool
But it’s hard to focus when I see him walkin’ ‘cross the room
“Let it Snow” is blasting out
But I won’t get in the mood
I’m avoiding every mistletoe until I know
It’s true love that he thinks of
So next Christmas
I’m not all alone, boy
I’m trying to play it cool – to make an effort to be or appear to be calm and unemotional. Composed. Especially when something is wrong. For example:
Jesse played it cool during the storm, calmly directing people to safety.
If the boss walks in, just play it cool.
If you play it cool and don’t seem too interested, they might lower the price.
“Let it Snow” is blasting out – Well, something is blasting out, what jumps to my mind is a Polish translation of these words and these are bad words so I’m not gonna say them here. I can tell you my translation but in a private message. And for now, let’s just say that the song ‘Let It Snow’ is heard everywhere because it’s so loud. You cannot not hear it. The song is blasting out. Examples:
The speakers are blasting out the information.
Music was blasting out from their house.
Coming back to the lyrics, listen and repeat the second verse line by line:
I’ve been down this road before
Fell in love on Christmas night
But on New Year’s Day, I woke up and he wasn’t by my side
Now I need someone to hold
Be my fire in the cold
But it’s hard to tell if this is just a fling
Or if it’s true love that he thinks of
So next Christmas
I’m not all alone, babe
I’ve been down this road before – She’s been in this situation before. She fell in love at Christmas and the guy is gone, it wasn’t the true love she had been longing for. So this year she wants to gain that confidence it’s gonna last. The same topic was explored in ‘Last Christmas’ The lyrics go: ‘Last Christmas I gave you my heart but the very next day you gave it away’. See? The same motive.
But it’s hard to tell if this is just a fling – a fling is a short sexual or romantic relationship with somebody. An affair. For instance:
She had a fling with him 30 years ago.
She had a fling with her boss.
It was just a holiday fling.
The bridge my friend, listen and repeat:
Oh, I wanna have him beside me like oh-oh-oh
On the 25th by the fireplace, oh-oh-oh
But I don’t want a new broken heart
This year I’ve got to be smart
On the 25th by the fireplace – Prepositions my friend. The date, the Christmas Day date. With dates we use ‘on’, ‘on the 25 of December’ but also ‘on Christmas Day’ because we all know it’s a date, Christmas Day is the 25th of December. But! At Christmas, we use ‘at’ with the holidays: at Christmas, at Easter. And finally, by the fireplace denotes you are close to it. By the window, by the door, by the fireplace. It means near, close to.
I’ve got to be smart – She wants to learn from her own mistakes so as to not be heartbroken again. She wants to be smart. She has to be smart. Let me give you a few meanings of the word ‘smart’.
One. Intelligent. That was a smart career move.
Two. Clean and neat. You look very smart in that suit.
Three. Controlled by a computer. This is a smart washing machine.
Four. Fashionable. Let’s go to that smart restaurant.
Let’s practice now. Listen to some of the example sentences I’ve used so far and repeat the, obviously out loud:
Do you think Ana has a crush on me?
Tell me if you need anything.
I wish I hadn’t given away all my old video games.
If you play it cool and don’t seem too interested, they might lower the price.
Music was blasting out from their house.
I’ve been down this road before.
It was just a holiday fling.
That was a smart career move.
You look very smart in that suit.
This is a smart washing machine.
Let’s go to that smart restaurant.
Well done! Now, go to your inbox and get the worksheet to test yourself. Translate the sentences into English. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet from teacherola.com/174.
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