Well You Won’t Forget What ‘Torn’ Means After Seeing This!

Here’s a fun way to learn English with songs. Natalie Imbruglia is a good sport – the Australian singer joins British comedian David Armand on stage for his very special mime performance of her top 10 hit ‘Torn.’

Here’s what you can do:

1. Watch the performance and see how much you understand

2. Now go to the lyrics for the song – which you can print from here.

3. Watch the song again – can you see the humour in some things he does? For example, why does he act like he’s going fishing at one point? Hint: check out the meaning of real and then check reel.

nb Torn comes from the verb to tear – to rip something, for example, a piece of paper so that it is now in two or more bits. Torn is the 3rd form (the past participle – tear * tore * torn).

Other Ways Of Using Torn

You can say:

• The country was torn by civil war for many years – this means there were a lot of problems there and the place was seriously damaged by what happened
  Singer Lourde also used this word in her hit ‘Royals‘:
  I’m not proud of my address/In the torn up town, no postcode envy
• I’m torn between marrying Matilda and accepting the new job in New York – this means you’re finding it very difficult to decide between two important things

Likewise, on google, you can see this commonly searched phrase:

• I’m torn between two guys (strangely it’s less popular when I type in ‘girls’!)

Other expressions with torn from songs:

• I’m torn and it’s tearing me apart 
• I’m torn into pieces 

Wordbank

She’s a good sport – she’s ok with someone having a bit of a laugh (or fun) at her expense.

Mime (v, n) = when an actor tells a story by using his gestures (hands, facial expressions and so on) and without using words

Photo Credits

Image courtesy of my computer & the cool Mac I have. No copyright breach intended.

Check Out More Ideas On Facebook

See you on the other side 😉 Get Into English on Zuckerbook

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