ESL and EFL teachers thinking about using songs and lyrics to teach English grammar will find this table we've compiled a useful resource.

Highlighted songs are those available as complete lesson plans here on tefltunes.com...

Songs for teaching present simple	Eric Clapton / Wonderful Tonight (lyrics) The Beatles / She Loves You (lyrics) Bette Middler / From A Distance (lyrics)
Songs for teaching present continuous	Fool's Garden / Lemon Tree (lyrics) Rod Stewart / Sailing (lyrics) Suzanne Vega / Tom's Diner (lyrics)
Songs for teaching past simple	The Beatles / Yellow Submarine (lyrics) Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics) Celine Dion / Because You Loved Me (lyrics)
Songs for teaching past continuous	John Lennon / Jealous Guy (lyrics) Oasis / Champagne Supernova (lyrics) Aerosmith / Cryin'
Songs for teaching present perfect	Michael Buble / Haven't Met You Yet (lyrics) U2 / Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (lyrics) Chris de Burgh / Lady In Red (lyrics) Sinead O'Connor / Nothing Compares To You (lyrics) Queen / We Are The Champions
Songs for teaching present perfect continuous	Anastacia / Left Outside Alone (lyrics) Led Zeppelin / Since I've Been Loving You (lyrics) Foreigner / Waiting For A Girl Like You (lyrics)
Songs for teaching past perfect	James Blunt / Goodbye My Lover (lyrics) Maddness / My Girl (lyrics) Simon & Garfunkel / I Had The Strangest Dream (lyrics)
Songs for teaching used to	Erik Hassle / Hurtful (lyrics) Madonna / This Used To Be My Playground (lyrics) Dandy Warhols / We Used To Be Friends (lyrics) Bruce Springsteen / The River (lyrics) Pet Shop Boys / The Way It Used To Be (lyrics)
Songs for teaching going to future	Jamie Cullum / Next Year Baby (lyrics) Jack Johnson / We're Going To Be Friends (lyrics)
Songs for teaching will future	Savage Garden / Truly Madly Deeply (lyrics) James Blunt / You're Beautiful (lyrics) Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics) The Rembrandts / I'll Be There For You (lyrics) Whitney Houston / I'll Always Love You (lyrics)
Songs for teaching future continuous	The Police / Every Breath You Take (lyrics) Ottis Redding / Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (lyrics)
Songs for teaching future perfect	Faith Hill / You Will Be Mine (lyrics) Sheryl Crowe / It's Only Love (lyrics)
Songs for teaching 1st conditional	Frank Sinatra / If You Go Away (lyrics) Simply Red / If You Don't Know Me By Now (lyrics) Cyndi Lauper / Time After Time (lyrics) Beautiful South / I'll Sail This Ship Alone (lyrics)
Songs for teaching 2nd conditional	Red Hot Chili Peppers / If (lyrics) Eric Clapton / Tears In Heaven (lyrics) Enrique Iglesias / Hero (lyrics) The Beatles / If I fell (lyrics) The Beatles / With A Little Help From My Friends (lyrics) Beyonce Knowles / If I Were A Boy (lyrics) Gwen Stefani / Rich Girl (lyrics) Barenaked Ladies / If I Had $1,000,000 (lyrics) Hoobastank / If I Were You (lyrics) Joan Osborne / One Of Us (lyrics) Norah Jones / Painter Song ABBA / Money Money Money (lyrics) Johnny Cash / If I Were A Carpenter (lyrics)
Songs for teaching 3rd conditional	Lisa Stansfield / Change (lyrics) Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics)
Songs for teaching "wish"	Pearl Jam / Wishlist (lyrics)
Songs for teaching passive voice	Westlife / Written In The Stars (lyrics) Offspring / Kirsty Are You Doing Okay? (lyrics) Gloria Gaynor / Let's Mend What's Been Broken (lyrics)
Songs for teaching reported speech	The Beatles / Norwegian Wood (lyrics) Stereophonics / Mama Told Me Not To Come (lyrics) The Killers / Somebody Told Me (lyrics)

Please contact us with your own suggestions.

Also see our table of songs for discussion topics.

If you think our table of songs to teach grammar is useful, why not link to this page?


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