BTS Teaches You About Similes, Prepositions
2021-11-19
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1The music group BTS, originally from South Korea, has developed a large international following.
2It recently won many awards at the MTV European Music Awards, including Best Pop, Best K-Pop and Best Group, among others.
3Smooth like butter
4Like a criminal undercover
5In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore some of the words from Butter, a popular BTS song.
6You will learn about linking verbs, similes, prepositions and more.
7Let's start with a few important terms and ideas.
8Linking verbs are verbs that connect a subject to an adjective or noun that says something about the subject.
9Linking verbs include the verb be, as well as verbs related to senses such as look, feel, smell and so on.
10Consider this example:
11BTS is awesome!
12This statement links the subject, BTS, with an adjective, awesome.
13In this case, awesome means extremely good.
14A preposition is a word or group of words that tells you information about a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.
15Common prepositions include words such as on, over and under.
16But for today's report, there is an important preposition you should know about: like.
17Like, the preposition, and like, the verb, have different meanings.
18Like, the preposition, means similar to someone or something.
19Consider the following statement.
20He is smooth like butter.
21The pronoun, he, is the subject.
22The main verb, a linking verb, is be.
23The adjective smooth follows the verb be.
24Then there is the group of words like butter.
25In this case, the preposition like comes before the noun, butter.
26Smooth has a few different meanings.
27 It can mean having a smooth, flat surface.
28It can also mean relaxed and confident in a pleasant way.
29Regardless, the entire statement He is smooth like butter is a kind of statement known as a simile.
30A simile uses the word like or as to describe someone or something by making a comparison to someone or something else.
31In everyday speech, many - but certainly not all - of these similes involve linking verbs, as in:
32This song is smooth like butter!
33This candle smells like butter!
34Now let's listen to a few lines from the BTS song Butter.
35Smooth like butter
36Like a criminal undercover
37Gon' pop like trouble
38Breakin' into your heart like that (Ooh)
39Note that similes are the organizing idea for the song.
40The first line says smooth like butter.
41The subject and main verb are not stated.
42If they were stated, one can guess the words would have been something like this:
43I am smooth like butter.
44This involves the subject, I, and the linking verb, be.
45Then another simile appears: like a criminal undercover.
46Once again, one can guess that the subject and main verb - the linking verb be - are not stated.
47If the subject and linking verb were stated, the line might be something like this:
48I am like a criminal undercover
49As the song continues, many more similes appear:
50Smooth like butter
51Pull you in like no other
52Don't need no Usher
53To remind me you got it bad
54Ain't no other
55That can sweep you up like a robber
56Note that the preposition like introduces either a noun, as in butter, a pronoun, as in no other, or a noun phrase, as in a robber.
57Later in the song, many of the similes do not involve linking verbs.
58To be clear: similes do not have to involve linking verbs.
59However, many everyday structures do involve them.
60The next time you listen to popular music, try to find examples of similes.
61Make note of how the speaker uses the word like, and make note of the verb the speaker uses.
62Does the speaker use a linking verb with the simile?
63Or do they use a different kind of verb?
64With careful study and hard work, your ability to express comparisons in English will become smooth... like butter.
65I'm John Russell.
1The music group BTS, originally from South Korea, has developed a large international following. It recently won many awards at the MTV European Music Awards, including Best Pop, Best K-Pop and Best Group, among others. 2Smooth like butter 3Like a criminal undercover 4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore some of the words from Butter, a popular BTS song. You will learn about linking verbs, similes, prepositions and more. 5Let's start with a few important terms and ideas. 6Linking verbs, prepositions, similes 7Linking verbs are verbs that connect a subject to an adjective or noun that says something about the subject. Linking verbs include the verb be, as well as verbs related to senses such as look, feel, smell and so on. 8Consider this example: 9BTS is awesome! 10This statement links the subject, BTS, with an adjective, awesome. In this case, awesome means extremely good. 11A preposition is a word or group of words that tells you information about a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun. 12Common prepositions include words such as on, over and under. 13But for today's report, there is an important preposition you should know about: like. 14Like, the preposition, and like, the verb, have different meanings. Like, the preposition, means similar to someone or something. 15Consider the following statement. 16He is smooth like butter. 17The pronoun, he, is the subject. The main verb, a linking verb, is be. The adjective smooth follows the verb be. 18Then there is the group of words like butter. In this case, the preposition like comes before the noun, butter. 19Smooth has a few different meanings. It can mean having a smooth, flat surface. It can also mean relaxed and confident in a pleasant way. 20Regardless, the entire statement He is smooth like butter is a kind of statement known as a simile. 21A simile uses the word like or as to describe someone or something by making a comparison to someone or something else. 22In everyday speech, many - but certainly not all - of these similes involve linking verbs, as in: 23This song is smooth like butter! 24This candle smells like butter! 25Butter 26Now let's listen to a few lines from the BTS song Butter. 27Smooth like butter 28Like a criminal undercover 29Gon' pop like trouble 30Breakin' into your heart like that (Ooh) 31Note that similes are the organizing idea for the song. The first line says smooth like butter. 32The subject and main verb are not stated. If they were stated, one can guess the words would have been something like this: 33I am smooth like butter. 34This involves the subject, I, and the linking verb, be. 35Then another simile appears: like a criminal undercover. 36Once again, one can guess that the subject and main verb - the linking verb be - are not stated. 37If the subject and linking verb were stated, the line might be something like this: 38I am like a criminal undercover 39As the song continues, many more similes appear: 40Smooth like butter 41Pull you in like no other 42Don't need no Usher 43To remind me you got it bad 44Ain't no other 45That can sweep you up like a robber 46Note that the preposition like introduces either a noun, as in butter, a pronoun, as in no other, or a noun phrase, as in a robber. 47Later in the song, many of the similes do not involve linking verbs. To be clear: similes do not have to involve linking verbs. However, many everyday structures do involve them. 48Closing thoughts 49The next time you listen to popular music, try to find examples of similes. Make note of how the speaker uses the word like, and make note of the verb the speaker uses. Does the speaker use a linking verb with the simile? Or do they use a different kind of verb? 50With careful study and hard work, your ability to express comparisons in English will become smooth... like butter. 51I'm John Russell. 52John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 53_________________________________________________________ 54Words in This Story 55butter - n. a solid yellow substance made from milk or cream that is spread on food or used in cooking 56linking verb - n. grammar: a verb (such as appear, be, become, feel, grow, or seem) that connects a subject with an adjective or noun that describes or identifies the subject 57simile - n. grammar: a phrase that uses the words like or as to describe someone or something by comparing it with someone or something else that is similar 58preposition - n. grammar: a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object 59sweep up - phrasal verb to pick up (someone or something) in one quick, continuous motion 60relax - v. to stop feeling nervous or worried