Tonight’s song is a list of animals and things, and the singer wants to be all of them, at once.
Learn from Songs · Unit 5: Comparatives and superlatives · A2–B1
Everything at Once
A cheerful list of everything the singer wants to be, all at the same time: as… as comparisons (as sly as a fox, as strong as an ox), not as… as, and similes with like, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
All of them? Even a snail?
SOPHIA
As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox, as fast as a hare… Listen, and count the animals.
DEMETRIA
I want to be as free as a bird.
Before you listen: the song
Sydney and Los Angeles, 2011
Lenka Kripac is a singer from Sydney, Australia. Before she became a singer she was an actress on Australian television. “Everything at Once” was on her album Two (2011), and in 2012 it became famous all over the world when Microsoft used it in its advertisements for Windows 8.
The song is a game of comparisons. English has many fixed expressions with as… as, often with animals: as busy as a bee, as quiet as a mouse, as stubborn as a mule.
In the song, the singer wants to be as many things as possible: as sly as a fox, as strong as an ox, as light as a feather… She doesn’t want to choose. She wants to be everything at once.
You don’t have to choose just one thing to be.
Listen: the animals
PHILO
Listen once. How many animals can you hear? What are they like?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🦊 Listen to the song: “Everything at Once” (Lenka and Jason Reeves, 2011), sung by Lenka.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Everything at Once”, Lenka.Read the lyrics →
As… as
MARCOS
As strong as an ox. As fast as a hare. Philo is as tall as me.
SOPHIA
as + adjective + as = the same: She’s as tall as her mother. No -er, no more: as big as, never “as bigger as”.
Not as… as
DEMETRIA
A snail is not as fast as a hare. Marcos isn’t as quiet as a mouse.
SOPHIA
not as… as = less: Winter isn’t as warm as summer. It is often more polite than a comparative: He isn’t as tall as you sounds kinder than He’s shorter than you.
Similes: as… as and like
PHILO
As free as a bird. She sings like a bird.
SOPHIA
A simile compares two things. as + adjective + as + noun, or verb + like + noun: He eats like a horse. She swims like a fish.
Sophia’s comparison: Homer’s similes
SOPHIA
Homer loved comparisons. Achilles is like a lion; the Greek army is like a swarm of bees; and swift-footed Achilles is as fast as the wind.
PHILO
And the Proverbs say: go to the ant, you lazy one, look at her ways and be wise.
MARCOS
As busy as an ant. I’ll try.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| as + adjective + as | the same | He’s as tall as me. |
| not as + adjective + as | less | A snail isn’t as fast as a hare. |
| as… as + animal | fixed similes | as busy as a bee, as quiet as a mouse |
| verb + like + noun | similes with like | She sings like a bird. |
| as big as (NOT as bigger as) | no -er after as | as strong as an ox |
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 want to be?
2. In the song, what animal is sly?
3. And what animal is strong?
4. Where is Lenka from?
5. What was she before she became a singer?
6. Which company used the song in an advertisement?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. As sly a fox.
8. He’s as as an ox. (strong)
9. A snail isn’t as as a hare. (fast)
10. She sings a bird.
11. Be as quiet as a ! The baby is sleeping.
12. My brother is as tall my father.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She’s as taller as her sister.”
14. “A snail isn’t as fast as a hare.”
15. “He eats as a horse.”
16. “You’re as busy as a bee.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Animal similes. Describe three people you know with animal similes: My brother is as hungry as a wolf. My grandmother is as wise as an owl.
Discuss. 1. Which animal are you most like? Why? 2. Is it good to want to be everything at once? 3. Do you know similes like these in your language?
Write (60–80 words). Everything at once. Write your own verse: six things you want to be, with as… as and like.
Now play the gamebook: an escape from the royal zoo of the Ptolemies.Play the gamebook →