Hello, I’m Mia.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to talk about relationships in English.
How can a wingman help you talk to people you like?
If someone leads you on, should you be happy or annoyed?
And what does it mean if someone tells you, “I’m out of your league?”
In this lesson, you can learn what all of these words and expressions mean and more.
Let’s get started.
Part 1: having a crush.
Imagine you’re single but you don’t want to be.
You wish you were in a relationship, perhaps you’ve got a crush on someone.
Having a crush means that you like someone romantically.
So if there is someone you find attractive or you like their personality, you could say
you have a crush on them.
You might also use the word 'like'.
From the context, or your tone of voice, people would understand that you mean ‘like romantically’
and not ‘like as a friend’.
Perhaps you want to speak to this person, but you’re too shy to do it alone.
You need a wingman.
A wingman is a person that helps you meet attractive people and start talking to them.
Your wingman is usually a friend you can trust to make you look good in front of someone
you like.
Your wingman can be a man or a woman!
For example, they will tell your crush interesting things about you or encourage them to chat
to you.
They might talk to the other person’s friends so that you can have time talking to the person
you like one-to-one.
Now, imagine you’re in a bar with your crush.
You’re chatting to them and giving them compliments, maybe making them laugh.
We would say you’re flirting with them.
This means that you’re talking in a playful way, which shows that you’re interested
in them.
For example, if you offer to buy your crush a drink or dance with them or tell them they
look nice, you could say you’re flirting with them.
But what if they don’t seem to return your feelings?
Maybe they think you’re leading them on.
If you lead someone on, you’re not really interested in them, you’re only interested
in the attention you receive from them.
For example, if someone dances with you and enjoys flirting with you, but they don’t
like you romantically; they’re leading you on because they only enjoy the attention they’re
receiving.
They’re not really interested in you.
Or, maybe they’re already taken!
If you’re taken, it means that you’re already in a relationship with somebody else.
However, perhaps they’re just playing hard to get.
This means that they’re acting like they don’t like you because they want to make
you more interested.
They don’t want your job to be easy!
Let’s review: If you have a crush on someone, you like them
romantically.
Maybe you’d want a wingman to make you look good in front of them.
When you make your intentions clear, you’re flirting with your crush.
If they’re playing hard to get, they may seem like they’re not interested even if
they like you.
If they’re leading you on, they’re only interested in attention from you and if they’re
taken, they’re already in a relationship and it’s best to find a new crush!
Part 2: dating.
Okay, let’s imagine that your wingman was great and you got the courage to talk to your
crush.
Things were going well so you decided to ask them out.
If you ask someone out, it means that you’re inviting them to go on a date with you.
Usually this will be some romantic activity like seeing a film together, or having a meal
at a nice restaurant.
Now imagine your crush said yes, and now you’re dating, or going out with them.
If you’re dating or going out with someone, it means that you’re meeting regularly to
do activities together as a couple, for example, going dancing or out to a bar or restaurant.
You can use the phrase 'seeing someone' to mean the same thing.
Going out with someone, dating and seeing someone all have the same purpose: you want
to see if you like each other and if you’re well suited to be in a relationship together.
Now imagine you’re on a date in an Italian restaurant.
There’s nice music playing and candles on the table, it’s all very romantic!
You and your crush have been flirting and you find out that you have good chemistry
together.
Chemistry is the feeling you get between yourself and another person.
It can be negative, but when we’re talking about having chemistry in a romantic relationship,
it’s positive and means you feel a connection with the other person, and you’re excited
to spend time with them.
If you want to say that you get on well with your crush, you can say that you click with
them.
We use the expression 'click with someone' to say that we are compatible with someone
and that you understand each other well.
For example, if you and your date have similar interests and lots to talk about together,
you can say you click with them.
Let’s review: If you ask someone out, you are inviting them
to go on a date with you.
Seeing someone or going out with someone are other ways to say you’re dating someone—you’re
romantically spending time with them.
If you have good chemistry with your date, you have a good emotional connection with
them.
And when you click with someone, you get on with them well and have a good relationship
with them.
Part 3: Head over heels in love.
Imagine that you’ve been on a few dates and spent a lot of time together.
Now, you’re in a more serious relationship.
It wasn’t love at first sight but now you’re head over heels in love with your new boyfriend
or girlfriend and you couldn’t be happier!
You feel like you’re made for each other and you want to spend every minute together.
Love at first sight is an instant attraction to someone.
For example, if you watch romantic movies or read romantic books, you often see examples
of love of first sight.
Two people have an instant attraction to each other and immediately like each other romantically.
Head over heels in love is an expression that means you’re deeply in love with someone.
If you’re head over heels in love with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you love them very
much!
If you use the expression made for each other to talk about your boyfriend or girlfriend,
it means that you are perfectly suited for each other.
For example, you could say you’re made for each other because you’re very compatible
and love spending time together.
Now imagine that your friends and family are so used to seeing you and your boyfriend or
girlfriend together that they start calling him or her your partner.
In this instance, a partner is someone you’re in a serious relationship with, usually either
living with or married to.
For example, you can call your wife or husband your partner, or, if you’re in a serious
relationship with your girlfriend or boyfriend, you can call them your partner, too.
You can also call your boyfriend or girlfriend your other half.
This uses the idea that you and your boyfriend or girlfriend are one complete unit together.
You make one whole together, so separately you are only half.
You can call your boyfriend or girlfriend your other half to say that they are the other
half of you.
If you want to be complimentary to your partner, you can also call them your better half.
Let’s review: Head over heels in love means that you love
your boyfriend or girlfriend very much.
Love at first sight is when you have an instant attraction to someone, and when you’re made
for each other, it means you are very well suited.
If you’re in a serious relationship—living together or married, you can call your husband
or wife your partner.
You can also call your boyfriend or girlfriend your other half, meaning you make one complete
unit together.
If you want to be extra nice, you can call them your better half.
Part 4: Problems in paradise.
You think things are going really well with your other half—you have good chemistry
and you’re head over heels in love with them.
Then one day, you go to meet them at the cinema, but they’re not there!
What’s happened?
Things were going so well…
You ring them but they tell you that they’re not coming.
You have been stood up.
If you’ve been stood up, it means that you have gone somewhere for a date, but your date
didn’t come.
For example, if you go to a restaurant but you eat by yourself because your date never
appeared, you’ve been stood up.
You are confused about what this means, but you ask your boyfriend or girlfriend out for
another date.
Then they turn you down.
If you turn someone down, it means that you don’t want to go on a date with them.
For example, if you ask someone to have a coffee with you and they say no, you have
been turned down.
Being turned down might make you feel rejected—you feel that the other person doesn’t want
to be with you or spend time with you.
You’re getting a bit frustrated now—you thought everything was going well with you
and your other half!
But they tell you that they didn’t feel the same way.
They accuse you of seeing your relationship through rose-tinted glasses and tell you that
they’re out of your league.
If you see something or someone through rose-tinted glasses, it means that you only see the good
side of something.
You don’t notice anything that might be wrong.
For example, if you see your boyfriend or girlfriend through rose-tinted glasses, you
think they’re completely perfect and can’t see anything bad about them.
You don’t notice their annoying habits or the negative side of their personality.
If someone is out of your league, it means they are too good for you.
For example, if your crush says that he or she is out of your league, they think that
you aren’t good enough for them.
It’s not a nice thing to say to someone!
Imagine you’re still on the phone, you’re getting a bit angry now, but before you can
say anything, your girlfriend or boyfriend dumps you!
They have broken your heart and left you single again.
If someone has decided that they don’t want to be in a romantic relationship with you
anymore, they have dumped you.
This means that they have ended their relationship with you.
You could also say that they have broken up with you or ended things with you.
These phrases all mean the same thing.
If things were more serious and you loved the other person, we would say they have broken
your heart.
This means that you were in love when they ended their relationship with you and it has
left you very upset and hurt.
Let’s review: If you’ve been stood up, it means that your
date isn’t coming and hasn’t told you.
If you don’t want to go on a date with somebody, you would turn them down.
Being turned down might make you feel rejected and unwanted.
If you’re seeing your relationship through rose-tinted glasses, you’re seeing it as
perfect but not realistically.
If you’re out of someone’s league, it means that you’re too good for them, and
if you don’t want to be in a relationship anymore, you can dump your boyfriend or girlfriend.
You could also say that you broke up, or that you decided to end things.
But be careful!
If they’re in love with you, you might break their heart.
Now we’ve reached the end of our lesson.
I hope you’re not too heartbroken!
Now you should be able to talk about and understand all the stages of a relationship using different
words and expressions.
Thanks very much for watching!
I hope that you have found it useful.
You can see more of our free lessons on our website: oxfordonlineenglish.com.
See you next time!