Another song about the present. This one is almost a list: a list of jobs.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A2–B1
She’s Not Just a Pretty Face
A song full of jobs: the present simple for what people do (What does she do? She flies planes.), a / an with jobs, job words with -er, -or, -ist and -ian, and not just… but…, with Demetria, who has some questions about the women of Alexandria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Jobs for women! I like it already.
MARCOS
Jobs for women? Like what? Cooking?
DEMETRIA
Listen to the song, Marcos. Then we’ll talk.
Before you listen: the song
Canada, 2002
Shania Twain is a Canadian singer who mixes country music and pop. She grew up poor in northern Ontario, and worked from a very young age, singing in bars to help her family.
In 2002, on her album Up!, she recorded “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face”. The song is a long, happy list of all the different things that women do: they work in hospitals and offices, they fly planes, they ride horses, they raise children, and much more.
The message is in the title: a woman is not just a pretty face. She has brains, skills and courage, and she can do any job she chooses.
She’s got everything it takes.
Listen: the list of jobs
PHILO
Listen once, and write down every job you hear. Who can find the most?
SOPHIA
Then listen again: is the song happy or angry? Who is it for? Answer Section A, and compare your list with a friend.
💼 Listen to the song: “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face” (Shania Twain, 2002).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face”, Shania Twain.Read the lyrics →
What does she do?
DEMETRIA
What does she do? She’s a doctor. She treats patients. She works in a hospital.
SOPHIA
To ask about a job: What do you do? What does she do? (not What is she doing?, which asks about now). To answer: She’s a doctor, or describe the work in the present simple: She treats patients. She works at / in…
A / an with jobs
MARCOS
In Spanish we say ‘es médico’. So in English: ‘she is doctor’?
SOPHIA
No, Marcos: English needs a / an: She’s a doctor. He’s an engineer. I want to be an astronaut. Use an before a vowel sound: an artist, an engineer, an hour.
Job words and not just
PHILO
Teacher, doctor, scientist, librarian. Why so many endings?
SOPHIA
-er (teacher, farmer, driver), -or (doctor, actor, sailor), -ist (scientist, artist, dentist), -ian (librarian, musician, electrician). And the title: not just = not only: She’s not just pretty; she’s clever and brave.
Sophia’s comparison: the women of the ancient world
DEMETRIA
And here? In Alexandria? What did women do?
SOPHIA
More than people think. Thirty years ago, Cleopatra ruled this city, and spoke nine languages. In Athens, Hipparchia was a philosopher, and argued with men in the street. And there is a story of Agnodice, who dressed as a man to study medicine, and became a famous doctor.
PHILO
And the poet Sappho, whom Plato called the tenth Muse.
MARCOS
Fine, fine. Women aren’t just pretty faces. I surrender.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What do you do? / What does she do? | asking about jobs | What does she do? She’s a pilot. |
| She’s a… / He’s an… | a / an with jobs | She’s an engineer. |
| she works / treats / flies | present simple: what people do | She flies planes. |
| -er, -or, -ist, -ian | job word endings | teacher, actor, scientist, librarian |
| not just… (but also)… | not only | She’s not just a pretty face. |
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 is the song mostly?
2. How does the song sound?
3. What is the main message?
4. Which tense does she use for all the jobs?
5. The song includes…
6. “She’s got everything it takes” means…
B · Jobs and the present simple
Write the missing word.
7. What your mother do?
8. She’s engineer.
9. A pilot planes. (fly)
10. Someone who plays music is a .
11. He works a hospital.
12. She’s not clever; she’s kind too.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She is doctor.”
14. “What does your father do?” “He’s a farmer.”
15. “What is she doing?” (meaning: what is her job?)
16. “My sister is an artist.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Game. Play “What do I do?”: one person thinks of a job, the others ask present simple yes / no questions. Do you work outside? Do you wear a uniform? Do you work with animals?
Discuss. 1. Are there jobs that are still “for men” or “for women” today? Why? 2. What job do you want to do, and why? 3. What does it take to be a good doctor, teacher or pilot?
Write (80–120 words). A woman I admire. Describe a woman you know or admire: what she does, where she works, what she is like, and why she is “not just a pretty face”.
Now play the gamebook: a day with the working women of Alexandria.Play the gamebook →