Revise multiple tenses in your ESL class with this song, Roar by Katy Perry. These song lyrics include 20 examples of verbs in 6 different tenses:
- used to (used to bite)
- past simple (sat, agreed, forgot, had, let, stood, fell, held, got up, earned, went)
- present simple (hear, get, see, am)
- going to (going to shake, going to hear)
- present perfect (I’ve had)
- present continuous (I’m floating)
There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.
Lyrics
I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up (hey)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (hey)
Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Now I’m floatin’ like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee, I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero
You held me down, but I got up (hey)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (hey)
Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (you’ll hear me roar)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (yeah)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (you’ll hear me roar)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Suggested activity: choose the correct option
Download this exercise (PDF)
I 1 bit / used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I 2 sat / used to sit quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I 3 had / made a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I 4 was standing / stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
CHORUS
You held me down, but I 5 stood up / got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, 6 it’ll shake / gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I 7 stood up / got up
Get ready ’cause 8 I’ve had / I have enough
I see it all, I see it now
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and 9 you’re gonna hear / you will hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and 10 you’re gonna hear / you will hear me roar
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
11 You’re gonna hear / you will hear me roar
Now 12 I’m floating / I float like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee, I earned my stripes
I 13 came / went from zero, to my own hero
CHORUS