Tonight’s singer is a surfer from Hawaii who plays a quiet acoustic guitar. His songs are simple and kind, and many of them were written for children.
Learn from Songs · Unit 12: Review · A2–B1
Broken
A gentle song by the Hawaiian surfer-songwriter Jack Johnson: break, broke, broken, the present perfect for results (it’s broken, I’ve broken it), the passive (it was broken), and fix, mend, repair, get something fixed, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
A surfer who writes songs? Lucky man.
SOPHIA
This one is about something broken. When things break, we use some very useful English: it’s broken, who broke it, can it be fixed?
DEMETRIA
I broke a cup this morning. Does that count?
Before you listen: the song
Hawaii, 2006
Jack Johnson grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, in Hawaii, and was a professional surfer until a bad accident in the water. While he recovered, he played the guitar more and more. Later he studied film in California and began making records with a soft, relaxed sound.
In 2006 he wrote and recorded the songs for the animated film Curious George, about a little monkey who is always getting into trouble. The album, Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, went to number one in America. “Broken” is one of its songs.
In the song, something is broken. The question is what to do about it: worry, or try to put things right.
Broken things can often be mended.
Listen: something broken
PHILO
Listen once. What is broken? How does the singer feel about it?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🩹 Listen to the song: “Broken” (Jack Johnson, 2006), by Jack Johnson.Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Broken”, Jack Johnson.Read the lyrics →
Break, broke, broken
MARCOS
I break things every day. Yesterday I broke a cup. I’ve broken my sandal.
SOPHIA
break → broke → broken. Past simple: I broke it yesterday. Present perfect and passive use broken: I’ve broken it. It was broken. And broken is also an adjective: a broken window.
Present perfect: a result now
DEMETRIA
Oh no, I’ve broken the lamp! (It’s broken now.) Who’s broken my pen?
SOPHIA
have / has + past participle when the result is important now. Compare: I broke a vase last year (finished time) and I’ve broken the vase! (look at it now).
The passive: it was broken
PHILO
The window was broken last night. The vase has been broken. It will be fixed tomorrow.
SOPHIA
be + past participle when we don’t know or don’t care who did it: My bike was stolen. Add by for the person: It was broken by the cat.
Fix, mend, repair, get it fixed
MARCOS
Can you fix it? I mended my tunic. They repaired the road. I’m getting my sandal fixed.
SOPHIA
fix (general, informal), mend (clothes, small things), repair (machines, roads, formal). get / have + object + past participle = someone does it for you: I got my watch repaired.
Sophia’s comparison: the broken jar and the potter
PHILO
The prophet Jeremiah went down to the potter’s house and watched him at the wheel. When the pot was spoiled in his hands, the potter didn’t throw the clay away: he made it again into another pot, as seemed good to him.
SOPHIA
And the Greeks mend broken pots with lead clamps, and you can still use them. A mended pot carries its story with it.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| break → broke → broken | irregular verb | I broke it. It’s broken. |
| have / has + broken | result now | I’ve broken the lamp! |
| was / has been + broken | passive | The window was broken. |
| fix / mend / repair | making it work again | Can you fix it? |
| get + object + past participle | someone does it for you | I got my sandal fixed. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. Who is the singer?
2. What kind of film was the album for?
3. What is the song about?
4. Why did Jack Johnson stop surfing professionally?
5. What did he study in California?
6. How did the album do?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Yesterday I a cup. (break)
8. Oh no! I’ve my sandal.
9. The window was last night. (break)
10. Can you my bike? (make it work again)
11. I got my watch . (repair)
12. It was broken the cat.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I have broke the window.”
14. “My bike was stolen yesterday.”
15. “I fixed my hair cut.” (= a barber did it)
16. “She mended the hole in her tunic.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
What’s broken? Look around your house. Make a list of five things that are broken or need fixing. Tell a partner: My… is broken. I’m going to get it fixed / fix it myself.
Discuss. 1. Do you prefer to fix things or buy new ones? 2. What is the hardest thing to mend: an object, a friendship, or a promise? 3. Why do children like Curious George?
Write (80–100 words). The day I broke something. Tell the story. Use broke, have broken, was broken, and fix / mend / get it fixed.
Now play the gamebook: a broken vase, and the truth.Play the gamebook →