2 minute read

Wonderwall

1 Read the first paragraph about the song. What information is missing? Research the song online and complete the paragraph.

2 Listen and check your answers.

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3 Read the article and answer the questions.

Today is going to be the day...

One of my favourite songs of all time is ‘Wonderwall’. ‘Wonderwall’ was released in 1) __________ by Oasis, a rock band from 2) __________, England. ‘Wonderwall’ and most Oasis songs were written by 3) __________, but ‘Wonderwall’ wasn’t sung by him. He let his brother 4) __________ sing it.

Although it’s an old song, it’s heard frequently at all types of celebrations. Why is it still played?

I think there are two reasons. Firstly, the tune is easy to play on the guitar and the lyrics, especially the chorus, are well-known because they’re easy to remember, so everyone can join in.

Secondly, the theme connects to our lives because it talks about the help offered by a friend and we all know how important friendship is.

The past simple

4 Find the circled present simple passive in the article. Complete the rule.

* The present simple passive is formed with the verb to __________ (am / __________ / are) and the past participle of the verb.

5 Find the underlined example of the past simple passive in the article. Complete the rule.

* The past simple passive is formed with the verb to __________ (was / __________ /) and the past participle of the verb.

1. Why is Wonderwall still popular?

2. Why is the song important to the writer?

I first heard ‘Wonderwall’ at my uncle Harry’s fiftieth birthday party when I was 13; I was amazed to see all the oldies singing along to it! Now it’s a track that will always be on my playlist, because it’s a great song and it reminds me how much we need each other.

6 Find two more examples of the present simple and past simple passive. Which examples are singular, and which are plural?

7 Read your answers to question 5 and complete the rules.

* To make a passive sentence negative, we use the negative form of the verb ___________.

* To make a question, we use the following structure: (Question word) + verb __________ + person / thing + ___________.

8 Why do you think the writer uses the passive in the article?

A. The writer wants to focus on the people that wrote, play and sing the song.

B. The writer wants to focus on the song.

9 Read the explanation. Then rewrite the active sentences below as passive sentences.

The passive form changes the usual order of the subject and object of an active sentence. The object of an active sentence becomes the subject of a passive sentence.

Thousands of fans stream Oasis songs every day. Oasis songs are streamed by thousands of fans every day.

Oasis released Wonderwall in October 1995. Wonderwall was released by Oasis in October 1995.

1. They organised the summer concert in the main square.

10 Read the explanation. Then read the passive sentences that you wrote in exercise

9. When do you think you should use by?

We use the preposition by to say who does the action in a passive sentence. We only do this if we think it is important to know who did something.

GRAMMAR Online practice

11 Read the lyrics of Wonderwall online.

1. What is your interpretation of the song?

2. Which words don’t you understand?

Word Translation

3. Which spellings in the song would your teacher correct in your homework?

Spelling in the song Standard spelling

2. Do people often choose John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ as the best song ever?

3. DJ Jen doesn’t play the same tracks every weekend

12 Sing Wonderwall with your class.

4. You often hear ‘I Gotta Feeling’ at parties.

5. When did Rosalía release ‘TKN’?

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