ESLSongs

Practise the present continuous in your ESL class with this song, Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega.

The lyrics of this song include the following 14 examples of the present continuous: I am sitting, I am waiting, He is looking, She is shaking, they are kissing, I’m pretending, I’m turning, I’m feeling, I’m trying, she’s hitching up her skirt, she’s straightening her stockings, Her hair is getting wet, I’m listening, I am thinking but it also includes other tenses, such as the present simple (13), present perfect (1), past perfect (2), past continuous (1), past simple (2) and “will” (1).

There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.

Lyrics

I am sitting in the morning
At the diner on the corner
I am waiting at the counter
For the man to pour the coffee

And he fills it only halfway
And before I even argue
He is looking out the window
At somebody coming in

It is always nice to see you
Says the man behind the counter
To the woman who has come in
She is shaking her umbrella

And I look the other way
As they are kissing their hellos
And I’m pretending not to see them
And Instead I pour the milk

I open up the paper
There’s a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
He was no one I had heard of

And I’m turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
When I’m feeling someone watching me
And so I raise my head

There’s a woman on the outside
Looking inside does she see me?
No, she does not really see me
‘Cause she sees her own reflection

And I’m trying not to notice
That she’s hitching up her skirt
And while she’s straightening her stockings
Her hair is getting wet

Oh, this rain, it will continue
Through the morning as I’m listening
To the bells of the cathedral
I am thinking of your voice

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Listen to the song and put the verbs into the correct gaps: he is looking, I am sitting, I am thinking, I am waiting, I’m feeling, I’m listening, I’m pretending, I’m trying, I’m turning, is getting wet, she is shaking, she’s hitching up, she’s straightening, they are kissing

¹ _______________ in the morning
At the diner on the corner
² _______________ at the counter
For the man to pour the coffee

And he fills it only halfway
And before I even argue
³ _______________ out the window
At somebody coming in

“It is always nice to see you”
Says the man behind the counter
To the woman who has come in
⁴ _______________ her umbrella

And I look the other way
As ⁵ _______________ their hellos
And ⁶ _______________ not to see them
And instead I pour the milk

I open up the paper
There’s a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
He was no one I had heard of

And ⁷ _______________ to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies
When ⁸ _______________ someone watching me
And so I raise my head

There’s a woman on the outside
Looking inside does she see me?
No, she does not really see me
‘Cause she sees her own reflection

And ⁹ _______________ not to notice
That ¹⁰ _______________ her skirt
And while ¹¹ _______________ her stockings
Her hair ¹² _______________

Oh, this rain, it will continue
Through the morning as ¹² _______________
To the bells of the cathedral
¹³ _______________ of your voice

Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American singer-songwriter of folk-inspired music. Vega’s music career spans almost 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the UK, “Marlene on the Wall”, “Left of Center”, “Luka” and “No Cheap Thrill”.