A love song now: a man waits while the woman he loves gets ready for a party.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · B1
Wonderful Tonight
A gentle love song about one evening: the present simple and continuous side by side (she’s getting ready / she asks me…), linking verbs with adjectives (you look wonderful, not wonderfully), and the vocabulary of getting ready to go out.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Oh, I love this kind of song.
MARCOS
Waiting again? First the lemon tree, now this!
SOPHIA
This time, Marcos, the waiting is happy.
Before you listen: the song
London, 1976–1977
Eric Clapton is one of the most famous guitarists in the world. He wrote “Wonderful Tonight” in 1976, one evening while he was waiting for his partner, Pattie Boyd, to get ready for a party. He was tired of waiting, and while he waited, he picked up his guitar.
In the song, it is late in the evening. She is wondering what to wear, she is brushing her hair, and she asks him a question. He tells her she looks wonderful. At the party, everybody turns to look at her. Later, he has a headache, and she helps him to bed.
The song is quiet and simple, and it is one of the most popular wedding songs of all time.
You look wonderful tonight.
Listen: the evening
PHILO
Listen once. What is she doing at the start? Where do they go? What happens at the end of the night?
SOPHIA
Then listen again, and notice when he uses -ing and when he doesn’t. Answer Section A.
🌙 Listen to the song: “Wonderful Tonight” (Eric Clapton, 1977).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Wonderful Tonight”, Eric Clapton.Read the lyrics →
Simple and continuous together
DEMETRIA
She is brushing her hair. She asks me something. I say yes.
SOPHIA
The continuous sets the scene: what is in progress (she’s getting ready, she’s brushing her hair). The simple tells the events, one by one (she asks, I say, we go), and also states and feelings (I feel, she looks, I love).
Linking verbs: look wonderful
MARCOS
You look wonderfully tonight?
SOPHIA
No, Marcos: look, feel, seem, sound, smell, taste are linking verbs, like be. They take an adjective, not an adverb: You look wonderful. I feel tired. The soup smells delicious. Remember our comic, “A Verb That Doesn’t Verb”!
Getting ready
DEMETRIA
Get ready, get dressed, put on make-up, do your hair, try on a dress…
SOPHIA
And the questions: Do I look all right? Does this suit me? What should I wear? And the answers: You look great. That colour suits you.
Sophia’s comparison
SOPHIA
In the Iliad, Hera gets ready in her room: she washes, puts on perfume, combs her hair, and puts on a beautiful robe. But she is getting ready to trick Zeus.
DEMETRIA
Pattie Boyd was only getting ready for a party. Much nicer.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are + -ing | the scene in progress | She’s brushing her hair. |
| present simple | events in sequence; states | She asks me. I say yes. |
| look / feel / sound / smell + adjective | linking verbs | You look wonderful. |
| get ready, get dressed, try on, put on | getting ready to go out | She is trying on a dress. |
| Does this suit me? Do I look all right? | asking about appearance | That colour suits you. |
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 time is it in the song?
2. What is she doing at the start?
3. What does she ask him?
4. What happens at the party?
5. How does he feel later?
6. How does the song sound?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. She her hair. (brush, present continuous)
8. You look tonight. (wonderful / wonderfully)
9. This soup smells . (delicious)
10. She is trying a new dress.
11. That colour really you. (looks good on)
12. Every Friday they to a party. (go)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “You look beautifully.”
14. “She’s getting ready.”
15. “I am feeling tiredly.”
16. “Do I look all right?”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Discuss. 1. How long do you take to get ready to go out? 2. Is it important to look good? Why? 3. Why do you think this is such a popular wedding song?
Role-play. Getting ready: one person tries on clothes and asks Does this suit me? Do I look all right?; the other answers honestly, but kindly.
Write (80–120 words). Getting ready. Describe someone getting ready for a special evening, like the song: what they are doing (present continuous), what they say and do (present simple), and how they look and feel (linking verbs + adjectives).
Now play the gamebook: Demetria and the banquet at the palace.Play the gamebook →