She sings about her regrets in a relationship. The chorus uses the third conditional several times. You can use this song to expand on your lessons.
It is also good to show the contraction version of the modal in the third conditional. The lyrics show how "should have" is reduced to "should've". This is an important contraction, and it is worth pointing out to students.
Here is the video with the lyrics. Also, there is cloze listening exercise below for you to copy and print. You can also find an online version here: Third conditional music - Taylor Swift
It's strange to think the songs we used to sing
The smiles, the flowers, everything is ____________________.
Well, yesterday I found out about you.
Even now just looking at you feels wrong.
You say that you'd take it all back, given one ____________________
It was a moment of weakness and you said yes...
You should've said no. You should've gone home.
You should've ______________________twice 'fore you let it all go.
You should've known that word about what you did with her
Would get back to me
And I should've ____________________there, in the back of your mind.
I shouldn't be asking myself why.
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet...
You should've said no, baby and you might still have me.
Well, you can see that I've been ______________________,
And baby you know all the right things to say.
But do you honestly expect me to believe
We could ever be the same???
You say that the past is the past. You need one chance.
It was a _________________________of weakness and you said yes...
You should've said no. You should've gone home.
You should've thought twice before you let it all go.
You should've known that word about what you did with her
Would get back to me
And I should've been there, in the back of your mind.
I shouldn't be asking myself why.
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet...
You should've said no, baby and you might still have me.
I can't __________________________. Before you go, tell me this
Was it worth it???
Was she worth this???
No... no no no...
You should've said no. You should've gone home.
You should've thought twice before you let it all go.
You should've known that word about what you did with her
Would get back to me (get back to me)
And I should've been there, in the back of your mind.
I shouldn't be asking myself why.
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet...
You should've said no, baby and you might still have me.
For third conditional lessons and exercises, try these links:
Third Conditional Lesson
Third Conditional Lesson
Third Conditional Test
Third Conditional Test
