Man Down

• By: Rihanna
• Album: ANTI

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
shoot /ʃuːt/ B1	verb - to fire a gun or weapon
gun /ɡʌn/ A2	noun - a weapon that shoots bullets
cry /kraɪ/ B1	verb - to produce tears as an expression of emotion
kill /kɪl/ B1	verb - to cause death of a person or animal
death /dɛθ/ B2	noun - the end of life
heart /hɑːrt/ A2	noun - the organ that pumps blood
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the existence of living beings
dark /dɑːrk/ A2	adjective - having little or no light
night /naɪt/ A2	noun - the time of darkness between sunset and sunrise
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the existence of living beings
place /pleɪs/ A2	noun - a particular position or point in space

Grammar:

• I didn't mean to end his life

  ➔ Past simple tense with 'did not' (contraction 'didn't') for negation.

  ➔ The phrase uses the **past simple** tense to describe a completed action that was negated.

• Coulda been somebody's son

  ➔ Informal contraction 'coulda' from 'could have', expressing past possibility or regret.

  ➔ The phrase uses **modal + have** to indicate that something was possible in the past.

• In front of a big ol' crowd

  ➔ Prepositional phrase indicating position or location.

  ➔ This **prepositional phrase** provides context for where the action occurred.

• I just shot a man down

  ➔ Use of 'just' with past tense to indicate recent action.

  ➔ The word **'just'** emphasizes that the action happened very recently.

• I will lose my cool

  ➔ Simple future tense with 'will' to express a voluntary or inevitable action.

  ➔ The phrase uses the **simple future tense** to indicate a potential outcome or reaction.

• Said, I'd never thought I'd do it

  ➔ Contrasted clauses with 'would' to express future-in-the-past and assumptions.

  ➔ The phrase combines **conditional and past perfect** structures using 'would' to express hypothetical feelings or beliefs.