Tonight’s song is a strange kind of thank-you. The singer thanks someone who hurt her, because the pain made her stronger.
Learn from Songs · Unit 5: Comparatives and superlatives · B1
Fighter
A song about turning pain into strength: make + comparative (it made me stronger), get + comparative (I’m getting better), less and more, and not as… as, with Demetria, a public speaking contest, and a boy who says girls can’t make speeches.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Why would you thank someone who hurt you?
SOPHIA
That is exactly the question. Listen, and decide.
MARCOS
It sounds like a rock song!
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 2002–2003
Christina Aguilera is an American singer famous for her extraordinarily powerful voice. She wrote “Fighter” with the producer Scott Storch for her 2002 album Stripped. It was released as a single in 2003.
Aguilera has said the song is about learning from the people who disappoint you. In the song, she thanks someone who treated her badly, because everything they did made her stronger, smarter and tougher, and taught her to fight. She is not the person she was before.
The music mixes pop with a heavy rock guitar, and the video shows her breaking out of a glass box and changing, like a moth coming out of its cocoon.
What hurt me made me stronger.
Listen: the change
PHILO
Listen once. Who is she speaking to? How has she changed? Which -er words can you hear?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🥊 Listen to the song: “Fighter” (Christina Aguilera and Scott Storch, 2002).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Fighter”, Christina Aguilera.Read the lyrics →
Make + comparative
DEMETRIA
It made me stronger. You made me smarter and tougher.
SOPHIA
make + person + adjective / comparative = cause someone to become: The rain made me cold. The training made us faster. Not made me to be stronger!
Get + comparative: changing
MARCOS
I’m getting better every day. It’s getting harder.
SOPHIA
get + comparative = become, little by little: getting older, getting colder, getting better. Add and for continuous change: better and better.
More, less, not as… as
PHILO
She’s less afraid. More confident. He’s not as clever as he thinks.
SOPHIA
less + adjective is the opposite of more: less expensive, less difficult. And not as… as is often more polite than less… than: He’s not as tall as his brother.
Sophia’s comparison: the oak and the storm
SOPHIA
Remember Aesop’s oak and reed? But there is also an old saying, from the Greek philosophers: the wind that blows out a candle makes a fire stronger.
PHILO
And Joseph told his brothers: you meant it for harm, but it turned into good.
DEMETRIA
So the people who try to break you sometimes make you stronger. But you don’t have to thank them.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| make + person + comparative | cause someone to change | It made me stronger. |
| get + comparative | become, little by little | I’m getting better. |
| comparative + and + comparative | continuous change | stronger and stronger |
| less + adjective | the opposite of more | She’s less afraid now. |
| not as… as | less than (often more polite) | He’s not as clever as he thinks. |
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 speaking to?
2. Why does she thank them?
3. How has she changed?
4. What kind of music is it?
5. What does the video show?
6. What is the message?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. It made me . (strong)
8. My English is getting every day. (good)
9. She’s afraid than before. (opposite of more)
10. He’s not as clever he thinks.
11. The training made us . (fast)
12. It’s getting colder and .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “It made me to be stronger.”
14. “I’m getting better and better.”
15. “She’s less taller than her sister.”
16. “The exercise made us tired.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Stronger. In pairs, talk about something difficult that made you stronger: It made me…, I’m getting…, I’m less… than before.
Discuss. 1. Can bad experiences make people stronger? Always? 2. Is it right to thank someone who hurt you? 3. What makes someone a “fighter”?
Write (100–120 words). A difficult time that made me stronger. Use make + comparative, get + comparative, less and not as… as.
Now play the gamebook: Demetria and the speaking contest.Play the gamebook →