Elvis Presley – Return to Sender

To practise: Irregular verbs, Past simple, Past Tenses
Band/singer:

This song comes with a worksheet to use in the classroomPractice irregular verbs in the past simple in your ESL class with this song, Return to Sender by Elvis Presley. There is 1 regular verb and 7 irregular verbs in this song: dropped, gave, put, brought, wrote, had, sent & came

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

YouTube player

Lyrics

I gave a letter to the postman,
he put it his sack.
But in early next morning,
he brought my letter back.

She wrote upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown.
No such number, no such zone.
We had a quarrel, a lover’s spat
I write I’m sorry but my letter keeps coming back.

So then I dropped it in the mailbox
And sent it special D.
But in early next morning
it came right back to me.

She wrote upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown.
No such number, no such zone.

This time I’m gonna take it myself
and put it right in her hand.
And if it comes back the very next day
then I’ll understand the writing on it

Return to sender, address unknown.
No such person, no such zone.

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Put the verbs (in brackets) in the past simple, then listen to the song to check.

I 1_______________ (give) a letter to the postman,
he 2_______________ (put) it his sack.
But in early next morning he 3_______________ (bring) my letter back.

She 4_______________ (write) upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown
No such number, no such zone
We 5_______________ (have) a quarrel, a lover’s spat
I write I’m sorry but my letter keeps coming back.

So then I 6_______________ (drop) it in the mailbox,
and 7_______________ (send) it special D*
But in early next morning it 8_______________ (come) right back to me.

She 9_______________ (write) upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown.
No such number, no such zone.

This time I’m going to take it myself
and put it right in her hand.
And if it comes back the very next day
then I’ll understand the writing on it

Return to sender, address unknown.
No such person, no such zone.

* Special D = special delivery

Elvis PresleyAmerican singer and actor (1935–1977)

Elvis Aaron Presley, known mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Known as the “King of Rock and Roll“, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley’s energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and initial controversy.

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