Another song about the present. A man who has very fixed habits, in a city that changes every minute.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · B1
Englishman in New York
A song about habits, manners and being a foreigner: the present simple for routines, likes and dislikes, adverbs of frequency (always, usually, never), and British versus American English, with Philo, who knows exactly what it is like to be a stranger in a big city.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
An Englishman in New York? Does he drink a lot of tea?
SOPHIA
He does. But the song is about much more than tea.
PHILO
It’s about being a stranger somewhere, isn’t it? Like us Jews in Alexandria.
Before you listen: Quentin Crisp
London and New York, 1908–1999
Sting wrote this song in 1987 about his friend Quentin Crisp, an English writer and a famous eccentric. For most of his life, Crisp lived in a small, very untidy room in London, and dressed and spoke exactly as he wanted, even when people laughed at him or attacked him in the street.
In 1981, at the age of 72, he moved to New York. He loved it, and he stayed there until he died. But he never stopped being English: his accent, his manners, his walking stick, his tea.
In the song, the singer describes his habits: what he drinks, how he likes his toast, how he walks. He calls himself a legal alien: a foreigner who lives in a country with every right to be there, but who is still a stranger.
Manners maketh man. (an old English motto, 14th century)
Listen: his habits
DEMETRIA
Listen for everything he does and doesn’t do. What does he drink? How does he walk?
SOPHIA
And listen for the chorus: what is he? Then listen again and answer Section A.
🎩 Listen to the song: “Englishman in New York” (Sting, 1987).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Englishman in New York”, Sting.Read the lyrics →
The present simple: habits, likes and dislikes
MARCOS
He drinks tea. He doesn’t drink coffee. He likes his toast a special way. He walks with a stick.
SOPHIA
The present simple for habits and routines, and for likes and dislikes: he drinks, he doesn’t drink, does he drink? Remember the -s with he / she / it, and doesn’t + base verb.
How often? Adverbs of frequency
PHILO
I always rest on the Sabbath. I never eat pork. I sometimes argue with Marcos.
SOPHIA
always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never go before the main verb (I always rest) but after be (he is always polite). Spanish speakers often say I go always: in English, it’s I always go.
British and American English
DEMETRIA
In London: a flat, the pavement, a queue, a lift, a biscuit. In New York?
SOPHIA
An apartment, the sidewalk, a line, an elevator, a cookie. Also: holiday / vacation, autumn / fall, rubbish / garbage, underground / subway. And the accent, of course, which is what the singer says people hear.
Sophia’s comparison: strangers in Alexandria
PHILO
In Alexandria we Jews are like him: we live here legally, we speak Greek, but we keep our own customs. We rest on the Sabbath, we don’t eat pork, we pray in our own way.
SOPHIA
And your own scriptures say: love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. The book of Deuteronomy.
MARCOS
So being a stranger is… normal? Everybody is a stranger somewhere.
DEMETRIA
And manners are the same everywhere. Being polite works in any city.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| he drinks / he doesn’t drink / does he drink? | present simple: habits, likes, dislikes | He drinks tea, not coffee. |
| always, usually, often, sometimes, never | adverbs of frequency: before the main verb | He always carries an umbrella. |
| be + always / never | after the verb be | He is never rude. |
| flat / apartment, pavement / sidewalk, queue / line | British / American English | He lives in an apartment. |
| a legal alien; manners | foreigners and politeness | Manners maketh man. |
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. What does the singer drink?
2. How does he like his toast?
3. What do people notice when he speaks?
4. What does he carry when he walks?
5. What does he call himself in the chorus?
6. According to the song, what makes a man?
B · Habits, frequency and two Englishes
Write the missing word or words.
7. He coffee. (negative, drink)
8. She her tea with milk. (always, have)
9. He is late: he is very punctual. (frequency)
10. In New York, a flat is an .
11. In London you queue; in New York you wait in .
12. he like his toast on one side? (question)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I go always to the diner.”
14. “He is always polite.”
15. “She don’t like coffee.”
16. “We take the subway every day.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Discuss. 1. What habits from your country would you keep if you lived abroad? 2. Is it better to adapt completely, or to keep your own customs? 3. Have you ever felt like a stranger? Where? 4. Do you agree that manners make the man (or woman)?
Write (100–130 words). A Spaniard in London (or in New York). Describe yourself living abroad: what you always do, what you never do, what you sometimes miss. Use at least five adverbs of frequency and three American or British words.
Now play the gamebook: a year in New York, as a young Englishman.Play the gamebook →