Relationships

Love is in the air! Here, we present dialogues about personal relationships and being in love.

 

1. Young love

Old friends Aimee and Priya are meeting for dinner.

Aimee: It’s lovely to see you, Priya. You look gorgeousumwerfend, wunderschöngorgeous!
Priya: Oh, thank you. You’re too kind! I’m so glad we’ve finally found time to go out together. I’ve missed you.
Aimee: I’ve missed you, too. We really must make more of an effort to get together.
Priya: I know. Life and work just take over, don’t they? How are you, though? Anything new?
Aimee: Nothing much... Oh, Milos has a girlfriend.
Priya: What? Wasn’t he only five years old about ten minutes ago?
Aimee: Well, he’s 16 now, and he’s head over heels in love.
Priya: And how is his girlfriend? Do you like her?
Aimee: She’s lovely. She’s like the daughter I never had. But the problem is they’re so young. It’ll never last.

 

Tips

– You’re too kind (ifml.) can be used to thank someone in a way that is very polite, but not always really sincereehrlich, aufrichtigsincere.
– When you make (more of) an effort, you to attemptversuchenattempt to do something, especially when it is difficult to do.
– To get together with somebody means to meet a person socially.
– You can describe someone who is very much in love as being head over heels in love.
– It’ll never last is used to say that something will not continue for very long.

 

2. First love

Aimee and Priya are talking over dinner.

Priya: Oh, don’t say it won’t last. You never know.
Aimee: Could you imagine still being together with your first boyfriend? What was his name again?
Priya: Sonny. Well, it’s funny you should say that. He got in touch again recently. And I have to admit that I felt a bit sentimental.
Aimee: Really? What’s he doing nowadays?
Priya: He’s an engineer, and he lives in Manchester. He was married, but he got divorced recently. He said his wife walked out on him. She left him for another man — one of Sonny’s colleagues, in fact.
Aimee: That’s heartbreaking. Poor Sonny!
Priya: I feel really sorry for him, too, but there are always two sides to a story.
Aimee: Well, yes, of course. But still...

 

Tips

– You never know can be used to say that something might be possible, even if it doesn’t seem likely.
– If you get in touch with someone, you communicate with that person, especially in writing or on the phone.
– If a person suddenly leaves somebody with whom he or she is having a relationship, that person walks out on the partner.
– When you feel pityMitleidpity or sympathy for someone, you feel (really) sorry for that person.
– There are always two sides to a story is a way of saying that there is always more than one way of understanding a situation.

 

3. What about you?

Aimee and Priya are talking about their former boyfriends.

Priya: Are you still in touch with any of your old boyfriends? What about Matty? He was a really nice guy.
Aimee: Yeah, he was. It wasn’t meant to be, though. We were so young. We split up when he went to study in the States. I have no idea what he’s doing now.
Priya: Haven’t you ever looked him up on the internet?
Aimee: No. I’ve never thought about it, to be honest. What’s that saying? “Don’t look back. You’re not going that way” — or something like that.
Priya: Ha! That’s a good one! Who were you with after Matty?
Aimee: I didn’t have a serious relationship for a long time. Then I met Philippe, and the rest is history.

 

Tips

– If something is not meant to be, it seems unlikely to take place because of forces beyondaußerhalbbeyond one’s control.
– When you split up (with someone), you put an end to your relationship with that person.
– Here, to be with someone means to be in a relationship with a person.
– A serious relationship is one that is sincere and important, not just short-lived, convenientpraktisch, bequemconvenient or superficialoberflächlichsuperficial.
– ...and the rest is history is used to say that you do not need to tell a story to its end because it is known to people already.

 

4. So awkwardpeinlich, unangenehmawkward!

Aimee and Priya are talking about dating.

Aimee: (phone pings) It’s from Milos. He wants to borrow money to buy his girlfriend some roses for Valentine’s Day. That’s young love for you, eh?
Priya: How cuteniedlichcute! I can’t remember the last time anyone gave me anything for Valentine’s Day.
Aimee: Oh, Priya! Seriously, I really don’t understand why you’re still single.
Priya: You’re so sweet! I have no idea where to meet nice men. And I’m not trying online dating again. The last guy I went on a date with looked nothing like his profile picture. It was so awkward!
Aimee: I can imagine. It’s easy for kids like Milos. But once you’re in your forties, it’s a whole different ball game.
Priya: Tell me about it!

 

Tips

– Valentine’s Day is celebrated on 14 February. It’s a day when people show their affectionZuneigung, Liebeaffection for each other by sending cards or giving flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
– Seriously can be used at the start of a sentence to show a change from a joking to a more serious mood.
– A person who is single (not: “a single”) is not married or in a lasting relationship.
– A (whole) different ball game (ifml.) is “a completely different situation”.
– Tell me about it (ifml.) means that you understand what somebody has said and have had a similar experience.

 

Now try out the exercises below.