Tonight’s song was written for a James Bond film. But it isn’t about guns or cars. It’s about admiration: you are the best, and nobody does it better.
Learn from Songs · Unit 5: Comparatives and superlatives · B1
Nobody Does It Better
A James Bond theme and a song of admiration: nobody / no one + comparative (nobody does it better), as… as and not as… as, comparing adverbs (better, more carefully, faster), and making comparatives stronger or softer (much better, a bit faster), with Demetria, undercover in the Library.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
James Bond! The best spy in the world!
DEMETRIA
So is it about Bond?
SOPHIA
It works both ways: about Bond, or about anyone you think is the best.
Before you listen: the song
London and Hollywood, 1977
“Nobody Does It Better” was the theme song of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The music was written by Marvin Hamlisch, one of the most famous film composers in America, and the words by Carole Bayer Sager. It was the first Bond song with a different title from the film.
It was sung by Carly Simon, an American singer-songwriter. It became her longest-running hit, was nominated for an Oscar, and in 2021 an American newspaper called it the greatest Bond song ever.
In the song, the singer tells someone that nobody does it better than they do: nobody is as good, nobody makes her feel the way they do. Some people are good, she says, but this person is the best.
Nobody does it better.
Listen: the admiration
PHILO
Listen once. Who is the song for? What does the singer think of them?
SOPHIA
Then listen for nobody and better. Answer Section A.
🕵️ Listen to the song: “Nobody Does It Better” (Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, 1977), sung by Carly Simon.Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Nobody Does It Better”, Carly Simon.Read the lyrics →
Nobody + comparative
DEMETRIA
Nobody does it better. No one is as good as you.
SOPHIA
A clever way to say “the best”: nobody / no one + comparative (Nobody runs faster than Marcos = Marcos is the fastest) or nobody / no one + as… as (No one is as kind as her). Notice: nobody does, singular verb.
Comparing how we do things: adverbs
MARCOS
She sings better than me. He runs faster. She works more carefully.
SOPHIA
Adverbs compare too: short ones with -er (faster, harder, sooner), -ly adverbs with more (more carefully, more quietly), and irregular: well → better → the best, badly → worse → the worst.
Much better, a bit faster
PHILO
She’s much better. He’s a bit faster. It’s far more dangerous.
SOPHIA
To make a comparative stronger: much, far, a lot. Softer: a bit, a little, slightly. Never very + comparative: very better is wrong!
Sophia’s comparison: the best at everything
SOPHIA
In the Odyssey, the Phaeacian young men challenge Odysseus to the games, and mock him. He picks up a discus heavier than any of theirs, and throws it further than all of them.
DEMETRIA
Nobody did it better.
MARCOS
Odysseus was basically James Bond.
PHILO
With more patience.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nobody / no one + comparative | another way to say the best | Nobody does it better. |
| no one is as… as | nobody is equal | No one is as kind as her. |
| faster, harder; more carefully | comparing adverbs | She works more carefully. |
| well → better → the best | irregular adverbs | He sings better than me. |
| much / far / a bit + comparative | stronger or softer comparisons | much better, a bit faster |
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 kind of song is it?
2. Which film was it written for?
3. What does the singer think of the other person?
4. Who sings it?
5. What was unusual about the title?
6. How does the song sound?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Nobody does it than you. (well)
8. No one is as kind her.
9. She works more than him. (careful)
10. He’s faster than me: a lot faster. (strong)
11. It’s a more expensive: not much. (soft)
12. He sings than his brother. (bad)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She’s very better than me.”
14. “Nobody runs faster than him.”
15. “He drives more careful than you.”
16. “No one is as clever as Demetria.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Nobody does it better. Say something nice about five people: Nobody cooks better than my grandmother. No one is as funny as…
Discuss. 1. Who is the best at something you know? 2. Why do you think Bond films are so popular? 3. Is it good to admire someone this much?
Write (80–100 words). My hero. Write about someone who does something better than anyone else. Use nobody / no one, at least two comparative adverbs, and much / a bit.
Now play the gamebook: Demetria goes undercover to find a stolen scroll.Play the gamebook →