Nouns and Pronouns in Popular Music
2021-10-22
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1Stay, a song by the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, has recently been at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the United States.
2I do the same thing I told you that I never would
3I told you I'd change, even when I knew I never could
4Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you
5I need you to stay, need you to stay, hey (oh)
6Let's explore some of the grammar behind the words of the song.
7In today's report, we will explore two lines in some detail.
8You will learn about the noun thing.
9We will also discuss pronouns and negations.
10Let's start with the following line:
11I do the same thing I told you that I never would...
12Pay careful attention to the singular noun, thing.
13It is one of the most common nouns in everyday speaking.
14Thing has several somewhat complex meanings.
15But in the song Stay, the word thing suggests an action or activity.
16If you were to rewrite the words of the song and keep the same basic meaning, the statement might be something like this:
17I do the same action that I told you I would not do.
18You will hear Americans use thing to suggest an action in many kinds of everyday situations.
19For example, a student might say:
20When I get home from school, the first thing I do is take a nap.
21Or:
22Before I go to bed, the last thing I do is brush my teeth.
23Let's explore another line from the song.
24Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you...
25The line starts with the imperative form of the verb know.
26In this form, the subject, you, does not appear.
27Let's continue with a few more of the words.
28Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you...
29Pay careful attention to the words "I can't find nobody."
30Nobody is a pronoun. It means no person.
31This suggests a negation.
32But notice the words that come before nobody also suggest a negation: "I can't find...", which is short for "I cannot find."
33This produces a kind of double negation - I cannot find nobody.
34This structure is generally not acceptable in traditional grammar.
35If you were to write the statement on a test, for example, you might want to use a different pronoun, such as "anybody."
36For example, you could write, "I can't find anybody."
37The point of this explanation is not to criticize the words of the song.
38Instead, it is to draw your attention to how pronoun usage might differ between what you see in traditional grammar books and what you might sometimes hear in popular music or shows.
39In today's report, we explored some of the words of a popular song.
40Take what you have learned to study other kinds of materials - books, movies, news reports and so on.
41Pay careful attention to the noun thing.
42 Consider what it could mean in the situation that you find it in.
43And also pay close attention to pronouns such as nobody or anybody.
44Doing so will give you a clearer idea of how pronoun usage differs between formal and informal language.
45We will explore more popular songs, films and shows in future Everyday Grammar programs.
46I'm John Russell.
1Stay, a song by the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, has recently been at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the United States. 2I do the same thing I told you that I never would 3I told you I'd change, even when I knew I never could 4Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you 5I need you to stay, need you to stay, hey (oh) 6Let's explore some of the grammar behind the words of the song. 7In today's report, we will explore two lines in some detail. You will learn about the noun thing. We will also discuss pronouns and negations. 8Thing 9Let's start with the following line: 10I do the same thing I told you that I never would... 11Pay careful attention to the singular noun, thing. It is one of the most common nouns in everyday speaking. 12Thing has several somewhat complex meanings. But in the song Stay, the word thing suggests an action or activity. 13If you were to rewrite the words of the song and keep the same basic meaning, the statement might be something like this: 14I do the same action that I told you I would not do. 15You will hear Americans use thing to suggest an action in many kinds of everyday situations. For example, a student might say: 16When I get home from school, the first thing I do is take a nap. 17Or: 18Before I go to bed, the last thing I do is brush my teeth. 19Imperative form and pronoun use 20Let's explore another line from the song. 21Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you... 22The line starts with the imperative form of the verb know. In this form, the subject, you, does not appear. 23Let's continue with a few more of the words. 24Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you... 25Pay careful attention to the words "I can't find nobody." 26Nobody is a pronoun. It means no person. This suggests a negation. 27But notice the words that come before nobody also suggest a negation: "I can't find...", which is short for "I cannot find." 28This produces a kind of double negation - I cannot find nobody. 29This structure is generally not acceptable in traditional grammar. If you were to write the statement on a test, for example, you might want to use a different pronoun, such as "anybody." 30For example, you could write, "I can't find anybody." 31The point of this explanation is not to criticize the words of the song. Instead, it is to draw your attention to how pronoun usage might differ between what you see in traditional grammar books and what you might sometimes hear in popular music or shows. 32Closing thoughts 33In today's report, we explored some of the words of a popular song. Take what you have learned to study other kinds of materials - books, movies, news reports and so on. 34Pay careful attention to the noun thing. Consider what it could mean in the situation that you find it in. 35And also pay close attention to pronouns such as nobody or anybody. Doing so will give you a clearer idea of how pronoun usage differs between formal and informal language. 36We will explore more popular songs, films and shows in future Everyday Grammar programs. 37I'm John Russell. 38John Russell wrote this lesson for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 39_______________________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41grammar - n. the entire system or structure of a language 42imperative - n. grammar : having the form that expresses a command or request rather than a statement or a question 43negation -- n. grammar : the act of making (a word or phrase) negative 44formal - adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing