Garth Brooks review – swooning fans turn out for British Summer Time’s hottest ticket
Listen to Course
0:00
0:00
EN: The past simple tense is used to describe an action that started and finished in the past. Regular verbs like 'play' add '-ed' to become 'played'.
The band played a great song yesterday.
EN: Garth Brooks is one of the most successful country music artists in history. While country music is traditionally rooted in American culture, its popularity has been growing significantly in the United Kingdom, as shown by his massive sold-out show in London's Hyde Park.
EN: Using 'at' for specific locations and 'for' to show purpose or event association.
The party was at the school for the holiday.
EN: Hyde Park is one of London's largest and most famous Royal Parks. Every summer, it hosts the 'British Summer Time' (BST) festival, a major music event featuring world-class artists across various genres, including country, pop, and rock.
EN: To compare three or more things, we use the superlative form of an adjective. For short adjectives like 'big', we add '-est' to the end (and double the consonant: 'biggest') and put 'the' before it.
This is the oldest tree in the park.
EN: The 'festival' mentioned here is the British Summer Time festival (BST Hyde Park), a massive annual music festival held over two weekends in London's famous Hyde Park. For an American country artist like Garth Brooks to have the biggest show in its history highlights the growing global appeal of country music, which traditionally has its strongest roots in the United States.
EN: The passive voice is used when the action is more important than who did it. It is formed with 'be' verb + past participle (V3). In this sentence, 'were added' and 'sold out' (used here as a passive state) show what happened to the tickets.
The windows were cleaned yesterday.
EN: The passive voice 'be + past participle (moved) + by' is used to show that the subject receives the action. 'Moved' means feeling strong emotion, like being touched or happy.
She was moved by the beautiful song.
EN: Country music artists like Garth Brooks share a very close, emotional bond with their fans. Live concerts in this genre are highly interactive, and it is common for artists to be overwhelmed by the crowd singing along to their classic hits.
EN: The word 'last' can be used as an adverb meaning 'most recently' or 'the last time'. It is placed before the main verb in the past tense to describe when an action last occurred.
She last visited her grandparents in July.
EN: Garth Brooks is one of the most successful country music artists in history. For American country stars, performing in London (especially at major venues like Hyde Park) represents a significant milestone in bringing American country music to a global audience.
EN: We use 'much' before a comparative adjective (like 'smaller') to add emphasis, meaning 'a lot more'.
This book is much better.
EN: In 1994, Garth Brooks played at the Marquee Club in London, which had a capacity of only about 1,000 people. This is in stark contrast to his Hyde Park concert, which drew tens of thousands of fans, showing how country music's popularity has grown in the UK over the decades.
EN: Use 'thousands of' followed by a plural noun to describe a very large, indefinite number of people or things.
Thousands of people visited the museum yesterday.
EN: Garth Brooks is one of the most successful country music artists in history. While country music is traditionally most popular in North America, his ability to draw 'thousands of fans' to a massive outdoor venue like Hyde Park in London shows the genre's growing global appeal.
EN: Using 'When' to connect two past actions. The 'when' clause sets the time or the trigger, and the main clause shows what happened next. Both verbs are in the simple past tense (sang, started).
When the bell rang, the students left the classroom.
EN: The pattern 'be surprised by...' is used to show that someone feels shocked or amazed because of something. 'Surprised' is an adjective describing the feeling, and 'by' introduces the cause of that feeling.
She was surprised by the beautiful flowers.
EN: We use 'be becoming + adjective' to talk about a change that is happening right now.
The weather is becoming colder.
EN: Although country music is traditionally associated with the southern United States, its popularity has been growing significantly in the United Kingdom, as seen by major sold-out festivals and concerts in London.
EN: We use comparative adjectives (ending in '-er') like 'older' to describe people or things. Sometimes, we use 'older' gently to mean 'somewhat old' or 'not young', without directly comparing to another specific person.
My sister is older than me, but she looks very young.
EN: Country music has historically been associated with older generations in the UK, though its popularity is currently growing among younger audiences as well. This sentence highlights that Garth Brooks, who had not played in London since 1994, naturally attracted fans who have followed him for decades.
EN: The verb 'know' is used to talk about having information or being familiar with something. To say you have deep knowledge of something, use the pattern 'know [something] very well'.
She knows the city very well.
EN: To make a negative sentence in the simple present tense with a singular subject (like 'Brooks', 'he', 'she', or 'it'), we use 'does not' (or 'doesn't') followed by the base form of the verb (here, 'put').
He does not play video games.
EN: Garth Brooks is famous for his decision to keep his music off major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music for a long time, valuing the album format and songwriter royalties. This is unusual in the modern music industry, where streaming is the dominant way people listen to music.
EN: Use 'or' to connect two choices or possibilities. In this sentence, it connects two actions: 'buy his albums' or 'go to his concerts'.
We can watch a movie or play video games.
EN: Garth Brooks is famous for keeping his music off major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. To listen to his music, fans must buy physical CDs, use Amazon Music (his exclusive partner), or experience his songs live at concerts.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'of the show' is used to describe and specify which 'first hour' we are talking about. It connects the part ('the first hour') to the whole ('the show').
The first page of the book is missing.
EN: In English, we can describe a noun (like 'every song') by putting a small sentence directly after it (like 'he played'). We do not always need to use 'that' or 'which' to connect them.
This is the book I bought.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
To sell all of the available tickets, items, or merchandise.
A style of popular music with its roots in the traditional folk music of the rural southern US.
Platforms that deliver audio or video content over the internet without requiring users to download the files.