How to Talk about Music

2022-12-02

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1
  • Imagine that you hear music on the radio or on your phone. Maybe you like the sounds; maybe you do not.
    • 2
  • But how should you describe the music? What kinds of terms and structures should you use in a discussion?
    • 3
  • In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how you can talk about music.
    • 4
  • You will learn about sentence patterns, adjectives, and adjectival prepositional phrases.
    • 5
  • Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
    • 6
  • Sentences often fall into patterns - usual, repeated structures. One of the structures commonly used to describe music is as follows:
    • 7
  • Subject - linking verb - adjective (or subject complement)
    • 8
  • Consider this example:
    • 9
  • The music sounds nice.
    • 10
  • The subject is "the music," the linking verb is "sounds," and the adjective is "nice."
    • 11
  • The adjective is sometimes called the subject complement, meaning it completes the verb and modifies or describes the subject.
    • 12
  • Common linking verbs used to describe music include "be" and "sound."
    • 13
  • For example, a person might say:
    • 14
  • This music is wild!
    • 15
  • Or
    • 16
  • This music is boring.
    • 17
  • In both cases, adjectives such as "wild" or "boring" play an important part in the sentence.
    • 18
  • They describe how the speaker feels about the music.
    • 19
  • Some adjectives have a negative meaning. Boring means uninteresting, tiresome.
    • 20
  • If a person says that the music is boring, they are suggesting that they do not like the music.
    • 21
  • Other common adjectives used to describe music include loud, soft, smooth, harsh, fast, and slow.
    • 22
  • We can also describe the effects that music has on us.
    • 23
  • In this case, we can use adjectives such as "relaxing," "calming," "exciting," "moving," or "touching."
    • 24
  • For example:
    • 25
  • This music is relaxing.
    • 26
  • Or
    • 27
  • This song is very touching.
    • 28
  • Sometimes English speakers replace an adjective with a kind of phrase known as an adjectival prepositional phrase.
    • 29
  • These phrases - sometimes idiomatic expressions - name or describe something about the subject.
    • 30
  • For example, you might say:
    • 31
  • The violin sounds out of tune.
    • 32
  • Or
    • 33
  • The singer is out of his mind.
    • 34
  • The former example - the one about the violin - uses the phrase "out of tune," meaning not having the correct pitch or intonation.
    • 35
  • The latter example - the one about the singer - uses the phrase "out of his mind," meaning that the singer has lost control of his mind or went insane.
    • 36
  • Let's take some time to work with these ideas.
    • 37
  • Choose a linking verb to connect the noun "song" and the adjective "smooth."
    • 38
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
    • 39
  • Here is one possible answer:
    • 40
  • This song is smooth.
    • 41
  • Now describe a singer's voice by using the expression "out of this world," meaning extremely impressive or enjoyable.
    • 42
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
    • 43
  • Here are two possible answers:
    • 44
  • Her voice is out of this world!
    • 45
  • Or
    • 46
  • His voice is out of this world!
    • 47
  • The next time you listen to music, ask yourself the following questions:
    • 48
  • How would you use what you have learned today to describe the music you are listening to?
    • 49
  • Are there other words or structures that you should use to describe the music?
    • 50
  • Asking yourself these kinds of questions can improve more than just your English skill.
    • 51
  • These questions could also deepen your enjoyment of the music itself.
    • 52
  • I'm John Russell.
    • 1
  • Imagine that you hear music on the radio or on your phone. Maybe you like the sounds; maybe you do not.
    • 2
  • But how should you describe the music? What kinds of terms and structures should you use in a discussion?
    • 3
  • In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how you can talk about music. You will learn about sentence patterns, adjectives, and adjectival prepositional phrases.
    • 4
  • Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
    • 5
  • Sentence patterns, adjectives
    • 6
  • Sentences often fall into patterns - usual, repeated structures. One of the structures commonly used to describe music is as follows:
    • 7
  • Subject - linking verb - adjective (or subject complement)
    • 8
  • Consider this example:
    • 9
  • The music sounds nice.
    • 10
  • The subject is "the music," the linking verb is "sounds," and the adjective is "nice."
    • 11
  • The adjective is sometimes called the subject complement, meaning it completes the verb and modifies or describes the subject.
    • 12
  • Common linking verbs used to describe music include "be" and "sound."
    • 13
  • For example, a person might say:
    • 14
  • This music is wild!
    • 15
  • Or
    • 16
  • This music is boring.
    • 17
  • In both cases, adjectives such as "wild" or "boring" play an important part in the sentence. They describe how the speaker feels about the music. Some adjectives have a negative meaning. Boring means uninteresting, tiresome. If a person says that the music is boring, they are suggesting that they do not like the music.
    • 18
  • Other common adjectives used to describe music include loud, soft, smooth, harsh, fast, and slow.
    • 19
  • Effects
    • 20
  • We can also describe the effects that music has on us. In this case, we can use adjectives such as "relaxing," "calming," "exciting," "moving," or "touching."
    • 21
  • For example:
    • 22
  • This music is relaxing.
    • 23
  • Or
    • 24
  • This song is very touching.
    • 25
  • Phrases
    • 26
  • Sometimes English speakers replace an adjective with a kind of phrase known as an adjectival prepositional phrase. These phrases - sometimes idiomatic expressions - name or describe something about the subject.
    • 27
  • For example, you might say:
    • 28
  • The violin sounds out of tune.
    • 29
  • Or
    • 30
  • The singer is out of his mind.
    • 31
  • The former example - the one about the violin - uses the phrase "out of tune," meaning not having the correct pitch or intonation.
    • 32
  • The latter example - the one about the singer - uses the phrase "out of his mind," meaning that the singer has lost control of his mind or went insane.
    • 33
  • Practice
    • 34
  • Let's take some time to work with these ideas.
    • 35
  • Choose a linking verb to connect the noun "song" and the adjective "smooth."
    • 36
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
    • 37
  • Here is one possible answer:
    • 38
  • This song is smooth.
    • 39
  • Now describe a singer's voice by using the expression "out of this world," meaning extremely impressive or enjoyable.
    • 40
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
    • 41
  • Here are two possible answers:
    • 42
  • Her voice is out of this world!
    • 43
  • Or
    • 44
  • His voice is out of this world!
    • 45
  • Closing thoughts
    • 46
  • The next time you listen to music, ask yourself the following questions: How would you use what you have learned today to describe the music you are listening to?
    • 47
  • Are there other words or structures that you should use to describe the music?
    • 48
  • Asking yourself these kinds of questions can improve more than just your English skill. These questions could also deepen your enjoyment of the music itself.
    • 49
  • I'm John Russell.
    • 50
  • John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
    • 51
  • __________________________________________________________________
    • 52
  • Words in This Story
    • 53
  • phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence
    • 54
  • modify - v. grammar: to limit or describe the meaning of (a word or group of words)
    • 55
  • touching - adj. having a strong emotional effect : causing feelings of sadness or sympathy
    • 56
  • idiomatic - adj. describes an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own