Tonight’s song is a duet: a man and a woman singing to each other. They both say the same thing: if I can’t have you, I don’t want anybody else.
Learn from Songs · Unit 9a: Zero and first conditionals · B1
If I Can’t Have You
A 1960 duet by Etta James and Harvey Fuqua: the first conditional with can’t (If I can’t have you, I don’t want anybody), double negatives in songs and why we avoid them in writing, and anybody / nobody / somebody, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Nobody else at all?
SOPHIA
Nobody. And listen to their grammar: in the song they say it with two negatives, the way people often sing and speak. We’ll see why teachers don’t like that!
MARCOS
Teachers don’t like nothing.
Before you listen: the song
Chicago, 1960
Etta James (1938–2012) was born in Los Angeles and began singing in a church choir at five. In 1960 she signed with Chess Records in Chicago, the great blues label, and that same year she recorded “At Last”, which became her most famous song.
Harvey Fuqua was the leader of the doo-wop group the Moonglows; a young Marvin Gaye sang in a later version of the group. In 1960 Chess released duets by the two singers as “Etta & Harvey”. “If I Can’t Have You”, which they wrote together, reached number six on the R&B chart.
In the song, each singer tells the other: if I can’t have you, I won’t want anyone else. They sing back and forth, like a conversation.
Some people are impossible to replace.
Listen: two voices
PHILO
Listen once. Who sings first? How do they answer each other?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
💞 Listen to the song: “If I Can’t Have You” (Etta James and Harvey Fuqua, 1960), sung by Etta & Harvey.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “If I Can’t Have You”, Etta & Harvey.Read the lyrics →
First conditional with can’t
MARCOS
If I can’t have you, I won’t want anybody. If you can’t come, I’ll be sad.
SOPHIA
can / can’t can go in the if-part: If you can’t find it, ask me. The result part often has will / won’t or the present simple for a general truth: If I can’t sleep, I read.
Double negatives
DEMETRIA
In songs: I don’t want nobody. In correct English: I don’t want anybody. / I want nobody.
SOPHIA
Standard English uses only one negative: not… anybody / anything / anywhere, or nobody / nothing / nowhere with a positive verb. Many songs and dialects use double negatives for emphasis, but don’t write them in an exam!
Somebody, anybody, nobody
PHILO
Somebody loves you. Does anybody know? Nobody can replace you.
SOPHIA
some- in positive sentences (and offers: Would you like something?), any- in questions and negatives, no- with a positive verb. The same for -thing, -where, -one.
Sophia’s comparison: Orpheus and Eurydice
SOPHIA
When Eurydice died, Orpheus went down to the underworld to bring her back. If he couldn’t have her, he wanted nobody. He sang so beautifully that even Hades agreed, on one condition: don’t look back.
PHILO
And Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like a few days, because he loved her. When he was given Leah instead, he worked seven more.
DEMETRIA
Did Orpheus look back?
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + can’t…, will / won’t… | first conditional with can | If I can’t have you, I won’t want anybody. |
| If + can’t…, present simple | a general truth | If I can’t sleep, I read. |
| not… anybody / nobody | one negative only | I don’t want anybody. / I want nobody. |
| somebody / anybody / nobody | positive / question, negative / no | Somebody called. Did anybody call? |
| something / anywhere / nothing | the same pattern | I didn’t go anywhere. |
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. How many singers are there?
2. What do they both say?
3. How do they sing?
4. Which record label were they on?
5. Which group did Harvey Fuqua lead?
6. What is Etta James’s most famous song?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. If I can’t have you, I want anybody. (will not)
8. If you find it, ask me. (can’t)
9. I don’t want else. (any-)
10. can replace you. (no-)
11. Did call while I was out? (any-)
12. I didn’t go last night. (any-)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I don’t want nobody else.” (in an exam)
14. “If I can’t sleep, I read.”
15. “Nobody can’t help me.”
16. “Did anyone see my keys?”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Duet. In pairs, write a short duet with four lines each, answering each other. Each line has an If… sentence.
Discuss. 1. Why do singers use double negatives? 2. Can one person really be impossible to replace? 3. What do you do if you can’t get something you really want?
Write (100–120 words). If I can’t… Write about something you would not want to live without (a person, place or activity), using first conditionals with can’t, and some-, any- and no- words correctly.
Now play the gamebook: a singing contest, and two voices that belong together.Play the gamebook →