Page 77 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

3 5 Relationships

Types of relationships
Here is a scale showing closeness and distance in relationships in different contexts.
CLOSER w MORE DISTANT
friendship: best friend good friend friend acquaintance
work: close colleague colleaguelworkmate
lovelromance: lover steady boylgirlfriend ex-"
marriage: wifelhusbandlpartner ex- ;:
* ex- can be used with or without (informally) another word: She's my ex. (girlfriend, etc.)
Mate is a colloquial word for a good friend. It can also be used in compounds to describe a
person you share something with, e.g. classmate, shipmate, workmate, flatmate.
Workmate is usual in non-professional contexts; colleague is more common among
professional people.
Fiance/ee can still be used for someone you are engaged to, but a lot of people feel it is dated
nowadays. You will sometimes see husband-/wife-to-be in journalistic style.
English has no universally accepted word for 'person I live with but am not married to', but
is probably the commonest.

Liking and not liking someone

core verb positive negative
like love adore dislike hate
worship idolise can't stand loathe
respect look up to admire look down on despise
1 attract turn s.b. on repel turn s.b. off
I be attracted to fancy

She doesn't just like Bob she idolises him! I can't stand him.
I really fancy Lisa, but her friend just turns me off.
Fancy and turn off are informal. Repel is very strong and rather formal.

Phrases and idioms for relationships
Jo and I get on well with each other. [have a good relationship]
Adrian and Liz don't see eye to eye. [often argueldisagree]
I've fallen out with my parents again. [had arguments]
Tony and Jane have broken up / split up. [ended their relationship]
George is having an affair with his boss. [a sexual relationship, usually secret]
Children should respect their elders. [adultslparents, etc.1
Let's try and make it up. [be friends again after a row] -
She's my junior I I'm her senior I I'm senior to her, so she does what she's told. [refers to
positionllength of service at work]
(See Unit 69 for more words relating to likes and dislikes.)

70 English Vocabulary in Use