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Innovation in Learning

A A VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Relationships
Lesson code: DUPP-DG9B-87IZ-A UPPER INTERMEDIATE+

1 Relatives
Put the people below in the correct category.

a biological mother a cousin a godmother a great grandmother

a half-brother a nephew a son-in-law a stepmother
an adopted son ancestors foster parents in-laws

Blood relatives:

Non-blood
relatives:

2 Relations past and present

Complete the sentences below with the following words.

ancestors descendant ex-husband fiancée

forefathers offspring orphan widow

1. Vanessa got divorced last month and her must now pay her $2000 a month in alimony.
2. She became a after her husband died in the plane crash.
3. Julio got engaged to a beautiful girl. Have you met his yet?
4. The rooms were filled with old portraits of his hanging on the walls.
5. Benjamin Franklin was one of the of America.
6. He claims to be a of an Italian prince.
7. Aisha grew up as an . Her parents were killed during the civil war.
8. Janet visited us with all her -- she has a son and two daughters.

Talk to your partner about your relatives, ancestors and non-blood relations. Try to use as many
relevant words from this page as possible.
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Relationships
Innovation in Learning

A A A A VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

3 Developing a relationship
Look at the expressions and verbs below. What do you think they mean? Match them to their definitions
then check with a partner.

1. tie the knot a. to ask someone to marry you

2. chat somebody up (UK) b. to be at the beginning of a romantic relationship with someone
3. have a crush on somebody c. to date regularly
4. settle down d. to feel that you like someone very much
5. go steady e. to get married
6. ask somebody out f. to invite someone somewhere, e.g. to the cinema or a
restaurant, especially for the first time in order to start a
romantic relationship
7. go out (with somebody) (UK) / g. to start a conversation with someone because you have a
date (somebody) (US) romantic interest in them
8. propose h. to start having a calmer life by getting married or having a
stable long-term relationship

Now complete the sentences below putting the verbs and expressions in their correct form:

1. Paul and Amber decided to after only 6 months of dating. They've been
happily married ever since.
2. He decided to her on a date to a fancy restaurant.
3. After a few drinks, Paul got the courage to approach Amber and her .
4. Paul chose a romantic weekend in Paris to to his girlfriend. To his
delight, she accepted.
5. I think it's about time for you to . You've had your fun in life!
6. After only a few weeks the couple started to . They see each other
almost every day now.
7. I didn't know you had a boyfriend. How long have you been ?

4 Talking point
What is the dating etiquette like in your country? Who generally `makes the first move'? Are people
considered `romantic'?

5 Verbs of liking and disliking

Look at the verbs below and the box on the next page.

detest ---> repel --> hate ---> can't stand ---> dislike ---> don't mind ---> like ---> fancy ---> love
---> adore ---> worship
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Relationships
Innovation in Learning

A A A A VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

The verbs detest, hate, can't stand, dislike, like, fancy, adore can be followed by a person, thing or
verb in the -ing form.
A person can worship someone or something.
If something or someone repels you, it causes you to dislike it strongly. You can be repelled by
someone or something.
The verb fancy is mainly informal British English. If you fancy someone, you are attracted to him/her.

Try to make your own sentences with verbs detest, repel, fancy, adore and worship. Example:
"I'm repelled by peoples' ignorance." "My brother fancies our next-door neighbour."

6 Relationship problems
In pairs, study the following sentences and complete the definitions below with the infinitive forms of
the underlined verbs and expressions.

a. Eve was very unhappy in her relationship. In the end, she decided to dump her boyfriend.
b. The couple split up last year. They don't even talk to each other now.
c. John may seem bossy, but it's really his wife that wears the trousers in their relationship.
d. Borys cheated on his fiancée at the office party. However, the couple made up a week later.
e. Allie had an affair while her husband was away on business.
f. Their marriage has been on the rocks for a long time. I think they are going to get a divorce soon.
g. We never really had much in common, so over time we just grew apart.

1. : to suddenly end a relationship with somebody (informal)

2. : to end a relationship
3. : to have a secret (usually sexual) relationship involving a married person
4. : to be unfaithful towards someone who you are in a relationship with (informal)
5. : to be friends or partners again after an argument or disagreement
6. : to be likely to fail
7. : to gradually become less close in the relationship
8. : to be in control of the relationship and make all the decisions

7 Talking point
Discuss any of the following questions:

1. Is there a high divorce rate in your country? Why/why not?

2. Do people generally get married at an early or late age in your country? What are the reasons for this?
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Relationships - Key
Innovation in Learning

A A A A VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

1- Relatives

Be prepared to explain any unfamiliar terms.

Blood relatives: a cousin, a nephew, a great grandmother, ancestors, a half brother, a biological
mother
Non-blood relatives: a step mother, a son-in-law, a godmother, foster parents, an adopted son,
in-laws

2- Relations past and present

Be prepared to explain additional vocabulary from the sentences, e.g. `alimony' (a regular amount of money that
a person, usually a man, is ordered to pay to their partner after a divorce). NOTE: A grass widow is a woman
who spends a lot of time apart from her husband, often because he is working in a different place. `Forefather' is
generally a formal word for describing relatives who lived in the past. Point out that `offspring' usually refers to the
young of an animal, but can refer to a person's children in a humorous or formal context.
1. ex-husband 2. widow 3. fiancée 4. ancestors
5. forefathers 6. descendant 7. orphan 8. offspring

3- Developing a relationship

1. e 2. g 3. d 4. h
5. c 6. f 7. b 8. a

1. tie the knot

2. ask her out
3. chat her up
4. propose
5. settle down
6. go steady
7. dating/going out

5- Verbs of liking and disliking

Encourage students to give real-life examples, but not necessarily about themselves if they are uncomfortable
with that.

6- Relationship problems

Students should use the context of the sentences to work out the meaning of the verbs, expressions and idioms.
1. dump (somebody)
2. split up
3. have an affair
4. cheat on (somebody)
5. make up
6. be on the rocks
7. grow apart
8. wear the trousers
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