VOA慢速英语2021--阿黛尔教你英语语法

Adele Teaches You English Grammar

Easy On Me, by British singer and songwriter Adele, has been at the top of Billboard's The Hot 100 and Global 200 lists this week.

In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how the emotional song can teach you about English grammar. You will learn about subject and object pronouns, expressions, the imperative¹ form, and more.

Let's start by exploring the name of the song.

Easy on me

The song's name is Easy On Me. The name probably comes from some of the words you hear in the song - go easy on me, or go easy on me, baby.

So go easy on me

Go easy on me baby

The words use the imperative or command form of the verb go.

As is often the case with this form, the subject pronoun, you, is missing.

Although the subject is not stated, Adele does give a clue about the person she is singing to. She uses the term baby - a term that is used to speak to a loved one.

Note that Adele also uses an object pronoun – me.

This object pronoun comes at the end of the expression, go easy on.

Go easy on means to not treat someone too harshly³ or in a way that is too demanding. In other words, when you ask someone to go easy on someone else, you are asking them to not demand too much or to not be too severe.

Imagine you see a parent who is talking to their child in a harsh² way. Someone might say:

You should go easy on him.

Or

You should go easy on her.

The speaker could also reduce their statement by using the imperative form and say:

Go easy on him.

Or

Go easy on her.

Note that in the examples, the object pronoun comes at the end, just after go easy on.

You could change the object pronoun after go easy on to make any number of statements - go easy on us, go easy on them – for example.

There ain't no gold in this river

Let's listen to the beginning of the song.

There ain't no gold

In this river

That I've been washing my hands in forever

Note that Adele uses the short form ain't. This is an informal way to negate⁴ a statement. It is common in everyday speech but is generally not used in formal kinds of writing.

If the words of the song were a bit more formal, they would sound something like this:

There is no gold in this river...

OR

There is not any gold in this river...

But such wording would not be the right fit for the emotions Adele wants to express.

This is a personal, emotional song. So, more casual structures make sense. They make the feelings and words of the song more believable.

Closing thoughts

In today's report, we explored what a popular song can teach you about grammar. The next time you are listening to music in English, pay careful attention to subject and object pronouns, the imperative form, and different expressions.

Make note of the different terms and structures you hear. Then try to use what you have learned by making your own sentences.

You do not need to explore much of a song in order to get a lot of information from it!

Words in This Story

imperative – n. grammar the form that a verb or sentence has when it is expressing a command

harsh – adj. very critical : strongly negative

negate – v. grammar : to make (a word or phrase) negative

formal – adj. : suitable for serious or official speech and writing

casual – adj. not formal; designed for or permitting ordinary dress, behavior, etc

1 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

2 harsh   

adj.严厉（酷）的，刺耳的，刺目的，毛糙的

参考例句：

• The sunlight is very harsh.太阳光很刺眼。
• Although his words are harsh,there is positiveness in them.虽然他的话很苛刻，但有建设性。

3 harshly   

ad.严厉地；苛刻地

参考例句：

• The grit beneath her soles grated harshly on the wooden deck. 粘在她鞋底的沙砾蹭在木甲板上发出刺耳的声音。
• We should not judge the young writers too harshly. 我们不应当对青年作家太苛求。

4 negate   

vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效

参考例句：

• Our actions often negate our principles.我们的行为时常与我们所信奉的原则背道而弛。
• Mass advertising could negate the classical theory of supply and demand.大宗广告可以否定古典经济学的供求理论。