Do you remember Shania Twain, from She’s Not Just a Pretty Face? Tonight, her most famous song.
Learn from Songs · Unit 6: The perfect aspect · A2–B1
You’re Still the One
A love song that proved everyone wrong: still for things that continue (we’re still together), the present perfect with for, since and How long…?, already and yet, and present perfect or past simple, with Demetria, and her grandparents’ golden wedding.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Is it a love song?
SOPHIA
A love song, and an answer to everyone who said her marriage wouldn’t last.
MARCOS
Ha! Take that!
Before you listen: the song
Canada and Switzerland, 1997–1998
Shania Twain is a Canadian country-pop singer, one of the best-selling female artists of all time. She wrote this song with her husband and producer, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, for her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling country album ever.
When they married, many people criticised them and said the marriage wouldn’t last: he was much older, and a famous producer. She wrote the song as an answer to those critics.
In the song, she says that people said they wouldn’t make it, but they have. They have built a life together, and he is still the one she loves.
The black-and-white video was filmed on a beach in Malibu, California.
Still together, after all this time.
Listen: then and now
PHILO
Listen once. What did people say about the couple at the beginning? What is true now?
SOPHIA
Then listen for still. Answer Section A.
💞 Listen to the song: “You’re Still the One” (Shania Twain and Robert John “Mutt” Lange, 1997).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “You’re Still the One”, Shania Twain.Read the lyrics →
Still: things that continue
DEMETRIA
You’re still the one. We’re still together. She still loves him.
SOPHIA
still = something continues, sometimes surprisingly: He’s still asleep! It’s still raining. Position: before the main verb (She still loves him), after be (They’re still happy).
How long, for and since
MARCOS
How long have they been married? For fifty years. Since 1975.
SOPHIA
How long + present perfect? asks about duration up to now. for + a period, since + a starting point. Careful: They have been married for fifty years, not They are married since fifty years!
Then and now: past simple and present perfect
PHILO
People said it wouldn’t last. They have proved everyone wrong.
SOPHIA
The past simple for what happened then (they said, they married). The present perfect for the result now (they’ve stayed together, they’ve proved them wrong).
Sophia’s comparison: Philemon and Baucis
SOPHIA
In Ovid’s story, Zeus and Hermes, disguised as poor travellers, were welcomed only by an old couple, Philemon and Baucis, who had loved each other all their lives. The gods granted their wish: never to be separated. When they died, they became two trees, an oak and a linden, growing side by side.
PHILO
And Ruth and Naomi’s promise again: where you go, I will go.
DEMETRIA
My grandparents would like to be trees. Fig trees, probably.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| still | something continues | They’re still together. |
| How long have… + present perfect? | asking about duration | How long have they been married? |
| for / since | period / starting point | for fifty years, since 1975 |
| past simple vs present perfect | then vs the result now | People said it wouldn’t last; they’ve proved them wrong. |
| already / yet | sooner than expected / not until now | I’ve already written it; I haven’t finished yet. |
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 did people say about the couple at first?
2. What is true now?
3. Who did Shania Twain write the song with?
4. Which album is it from?
5. How does the song sound?
6. Where was the video filmed?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. After all these years, they’re together.
8. They’ve been married fifty years.
9. They’ve lived there 1975.
10. How long they known each other?
11. Everyone it wouldn’t last. (say, then)
12. I haven’t written the speech .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “They are married since 1975.”
14. “She still loves him.”
15. “How long do you know her?”
16. “They’ve been together for a long time.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Still. Talk about something in your life that is still the same after many years: a friend, a hobby, a house. I’ve known her since…, we still…
Discuss. 1. What makes a relationship last? 2. Should people listen to what others say about their relationships? 3. Who do you know who has been together for a long time?
Write (80–100 words). Still the one. Write about a person, place or thing that has been important to you for a long time. Use still, for, since and How long…?
Now play the gamebook: Demetria’s speech at her grandparents’ golden wedding.Play the gamebook →