Song: Let's call the whole thing off

British English, American English: same language, different pronunciations? George and Ira Gershwin wrote this funny little song in 1937 (!) - here interpreted by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - making fun of the differences.


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Things have come to a pretty pass
Our romance is growing flat
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that
Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh I don't know where I'm at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done

You say either and I say either
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either, neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off
You like potato and I like potato
You like tomato and I like tomato
Potato, potato, tomato, tomato
Let's call the whole thing off

But oh, if we call the whole thing off then we must part
And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart
So if you like pyjamas and I like pyjamas
I'll wear pyjamas and give up pyjamas
For we know we need each other so we
Better call the calling off off
Let's call the whole thing off

You say laughter and I say laughter
You say after and I say after
Laughter, laughter, after, after
Let's call the whole thing off
You like vanilla and I like vanilla
You sarsaparilla and I sarsaparilla
Vanilla vanilla, oh! chocolate, strawberry
Let's call the whole thing off

But oh if we call the whole thing of then we must part
And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart
So if you go for oysters and I go for oysters
I'll order oysters and cancel the oysters
For we know we need each other so we
Better call the calling off off
Let's call the whole thing off

See also:
British X American English - vocabulary activity

British X American English

Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once said that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language". We may think about differences in pronunciation, like in the song, but in fact there are differences when it comes to vocabulary, too! Here are a few activities to test your English vocabulary - both British and American!

• Hangman - write the American words
• A vocabulary quiz
• A matching activity
• A BBC quiz, with pictures

Pronunciation: find the pairs!

Practise listening and test your concentration with this very cool memory game. Click on a card to flip it and listen to the word. Then try to find another card with exactly the same sound.

Improving your accent

Here is Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin, in the new movie version) trying to "improve" his pronunciation... You can also click on activities 1 and 2 to practise making requests and offers in English, or try a multiple choice activity to contrast like x would like.

What do you do to improve your pronunciation in English? Tell us in the 'comments' area!

Silent letters

Silent letters are letters that you can't hear when you say the word, but that are there when you write the word.There are no rules, you just have to learn them. For example, we do not pronounce the letter 'k' in knight (it should sound like 'night'). Here are two quizzes, one at elementary and one at pre-intermediate level, and a really cool game (different levels) with sound to get some practise. Enjoy!

Is that what he said?

This is a simple - and clever - TV commercial for Maxell tapes I first saw in the late 1980s. Native speakers can have problems understanding their own language too and may end up hearing strange sound combinations (like in the song below, "cheese head" instead of "she said")! Click here to learn more about connected speech.


And here's what the singer actually said:

Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir,
So that every mouth can be fed.
Poor me, Israelite.
My wife and my kids,
They are packed up and leave me.
Darling, she said, I was yours to be seen.
Poor me, Israelite.

And here's another funny Maxell advert. But this time the singer simply has terrible pronunciation! :-)

Song: Another Day (Paul McCartney)

This is one of Paul McCartney's biggest hits with his post-Beatles band, Wings. It talks about the life of a girl. Listen to the song and choose the correct verbs in the lyrics (check 'comments' for the correct answers). Then try some pronunciation and grammar activities!



Every day she has/takes a morning bath, she wets/dries her hair
Wraps/Puts a towel 'round her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
I'ts just another day
Slippin' into stockings, steppin' into/puttin' on shoes
Dippin' in the pocket of her raincoat
It's just another day

At the office where the papers pile/grow she has/takes a break
Drinks/Makes another coffee and she finds it hard to stay awake
It's just another day It's just another day It's just another day

So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels/is so sad
Alone in the apartment she'd dwell
Till the man of her dreams comes/arrives to break the spell
Ah, stay, don't stand her up
And he comes, and he stays, but he leaves the next day
So sad... Sometimes she feels so sad

As she writes/posts another letter to the sound of five
People gather 'round her and she finds it hard to stay alive
It's just another day It's just another day It's just another day

So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels so sad...

Every day she has/takes a morning bath, she wets/dries her hair
Wraps a towel 'round her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
I'ts just another day It's just another day It's just another day

Song: She's leaving home - Beatles

The album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and here's one of its most beautiful songs, written and sung by Paul McCartney. Read the lyrics and think: what is the song about? How does the girl feel? How about her parents?
If you click here, you can also try an activity to practise pronunciation. Have fun!



Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Stepping outside she is free

She (We gave her most of our lives)
Is leaving (Sacrificed most of our lives)
Home (We gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home after living alone (Bye bye)
For so many years

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
Daddy our baby's gone
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
How could she do this to me?

She (We never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (Never a thought for ourselves)
Home (We struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home after living alone (Bye bye)
For so many years

Friday morning at nine o'clock she is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the motor trade

She (What did we do that was wrong)
Is having (We didn't know it was wrong)
Fun (Fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside that was always denied
For so many years (Bye bye)
She's leaving home
Bye bye