Don't Leave Me This Way

• By: Thelma Houston
• Album: Any Way You Like It

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
leave /liːv/ A1	verb - to go away from
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection verb - to feel deep affection for
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood
full /fʊl/ A2	adjective - containing or holding as much as possible
desire /dɪˈzaɪər/ B2	noun - a strong feeling of wanting something verb - to strongly wish for or want something
fire /ˈfaɪər/ A2	noun - a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal
burning /ˈbɜːrnɪŋ/ B1	adjective - producing or characterized by intense heat
control /kənˈtroʊl/ B1	noun - the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events verb - to have power over; to manage
need /niːd/ A2	noun - something required or wanted verb - to require (something) because it is essential or very important
loving /ˈlʌvɪŋ/ B1	adjective - feeling or showing love and affection
free /friː/ A1	adjective - not under the control or power of someone else; able to do or say what you want verb - to release from captivity or constraint
command /kəˈmænd/ B2	noun - an authoritative order verb - to give an authoritative order
survive /sərˈvaɪv/ B1	verb - continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship
tender /ˈtendər/ B2	adjective - gentle and loving
miss /mɪs/ A2	verb - to feel sad about the absence of (someone or something)

Grammar:

• Don't leave me this way

  ➔ Imperative

  ➔ Uses the imperative verb form "Don't leave" to express a direct request or command, specifically a negative one.

• I can't survive, I can't stay alive

  ➔ Modal verb 'can't'

  ➔ "can't" is the contracted form of "cannot," expressing an inability to do something (survive, stay alive). Demonstrates the singer's dependence on the subject of the song.

• Without your love, oh baby

  ➔ Prepositional phrase

  ➔ The phrase "Without your love" acts as an adverbial modifier, expressing a condition under which the singer cannot survive. It emphasizes the necessity of the listener's love.

• My heart is full of love and desire for you

  ➔ Subject-Verb-Complement

  ➔ Basic sentence structure. "My heart" is the subject, "is" is the verb (linking verb), and "full of love and desire for you" is the complement describing the subject.

• You started this fire down in my soul

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The verb "started" is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action in the past. It highlights the origin of the singer's intense feelings.

• Now can't you see it's burning out of control?

  ➔ Question with contraction and present continuous

  ➔ "Can't you see" is a question using a contracted form of "cannot". "It's burning" utilizes the present continuous tense to describe an ongoing action (the fire burning out of control).

• 'Cos only your good loving can set me free

  ➔ Subordinating conjunction 'cos and modal verb 'can'

  ➔ 'Cos' is a shortened form of 'because', introducing a reason. The modal verb 'can' expresses the ability or possibility: only the listener's love has the power to free the speaker.