If I Could (El Condor Pasa)

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would.


I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would.

Away, I'd rather sail away
like a swan that's here and gone.

A man gets tied up to the ground.
He gives the world its saddest sound,
its saddest sound.

I'd rather be a forest than a street.
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would.
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet.
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would.


VOCABULARY
A. Rhymes
Look at the song and tell me what words rhyme.

1. snail rhymes with _________________________
2. would rhymes with ________________________
3. swan rhymes with _________________________
4. ground rhymes with _______________________
5. street rhymes with _________________________

From your own head,
6. Tell me another word that rhymes with snail. ________________________


7. Tell me another word that rhymes with would. ________________________


8. Tell me another word that rhymes with swan. ________________________


9. Tell me another word that rhymes with ground. _____________________


10. Tell me another word that rhymes with street. ________________________

GRAMMAR
1. “saddest” is a superlative adjective

Single-syllable adjectives such as big and thin, are compared like this:
a. She has a big house.
b. Her brother has a bigger house than she has.
c. Her bother’s house is the biggest on his block.

d. Bob is a very thin man.
e. Bob is thinner than his father.
f. Bob’s father is the thinnest person in his family.

Choose a single-syllable adjective, and write three sentences like the above examples.

g. ______________________________________________________________________
h. _____________________________________________________________________
i. _____________________________________________________________________




2. WOULD RATHER + VERB THAN + VERB
Examples:
a. My mother said that she’d rather have someone wash dishes for her than do it herself. Why? . . . because she was very tired.
b. We’d rather watch movies on TV than see them in a theater because watching movies on TV is less expensive.

c. Tell me something you’d rather do than do something else.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

d. Tell me what you’d rather be than what you are

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

e. Tell me what you’d rather be doing than what you are doing.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

CONVERSATION (Talk to your partner. Then write your own answer.)
1. Why do you think the singer is saying that he’d rather be a sparrow than a snail?

I think the singer is saying that he’d rather be a sparrow than a snail because

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



2. Why do you think the singer is saying that he’d rather be a hammer than a nail?

I think the singer is saying that he’d rather be a hammer than a nail because

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________






3. Why do you think the singer is saying he’d like to be like a swan and “sail away.”

I think the singer is saying that he’d like to be like a swan and sail away because

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



4. Why do you think the singer is saying he’d rather be a forest than a street and feel the earth beneath his feet?

I think the singer is saying that he’d rather be a forest than a street and feel the earth beneath his feet because

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________