1. Look at the pairs of words below and explain the difference between them.

boyfriend/girlfriend – significant other fiance/fiancee – bride/bridegroom

3. a) Match the beginning with the endings of the expressions below in all possible ways.

1) Ann seems to really like Tom, but personally, _____. I don’t know what she sees in him. 

2) Mark isn’t very happy at the moment, he really likes that girl at college but _____ at all. 

3) Alice goes bright red every time she talks to you. I’m sure _____. 

4) Tina spends almost every evening with this new guy she’s seeing. _____. 

5) I’m sure Ann fancies that guy in the accounts department. _____.

Peter had never had a 1) _____ and Anna never had a 2) _____. When they started 3) _____ together, they were both nervous. For their first 4) _____ Peter wanted to take her somewhere 5) _____, so he booked a table at an Italian restaurant. He walked her home. When he left, they 6) _____ goodnight. The next day Anna told her best friend she was 7) _____ with Peter and that this was the first really serious 8) _____ in her life.

5. Read the text about the great love stories of the crowned heads and say which of them you find most inspiring.

Their names may largely be unfamiliar to most people in the West but their love produced a monument that is famous all over the world – the Taj Mahal. The royal couple shared a loving marriage until Mumtaz died while giving birth to their 14th child. Shah Jahan was devastated by his wife’s death and his deep grief affected him both emotionally and physically. But his grief inspired him to build one of the world’s greatest architectural masterpieces to serve as the final resting place of his beloved wife.

Few couples understand sacrifice quite like this Greek pair. After being torn apart, they wait twenty long years to be reunited. War takes Odysseus, a legendary Greek king of Ithaca, away shortly after his marriage to Penelope. Although she has little hope of his return, she resists the 108 suitors who were anxious to replace her husband. Odysseus was equally devoted, refusing a beautiful sorceress’s offer of everlasting love and eternal youth, so that he might return home to his wife and son.

This love story is about an English royal who mourned her husband’s death for 40 years. Victoria ascended the throne of England in 1837. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. German Prince Albert came to be admired for his honesty, diligence, and his devotion to his family. The couple had nine children. Victoria loved her husband deeply. She relied on his advice in matters of state, especially in diplomacy. When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was heartbroken. She did not appear in public for three years, and continued wearing black until her death in 1901.

Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. married on a small island in Georgia, the ceremony was a secret and indicative of the couple’s desire to keep their relationship private. The couple tried as much as they could to live a normal life out of their Tribeca apartment and as with any normal marriage they had ups and downs. “They would love hard, and they would fight hard,” said a friend of the couple. It was evident the love was there and as public attention mounted, Carolyn and JFK Jr. became an iconic duo. Sadly, their love was cut short when the couple tragically died in a plane crash over the Atlantic ocean.

When Edward VIII fell in love with an American divorcee it was an affair that shocked a nation and threw Britain’s monarch into the midst of a constitutional crisis. The marriage was strongly opposed by the church and government, and Edward chose to abdicate the throne. He famously proclaimed his love for Wallis Simpson as he addressed the nation: “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to fulfil my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love,” he said, this was choosing love over kingship.

3) Victoria trusted her husband with/for _____.

a duty that is hard to bear / a mixture of good and bad things to happen / have big arguments / to be respected for / sorrowed / a woman after divorce / never-ending love / be happy in marriage / to be brought back together

Before comparatives you can use:

much – a lot – far ( = a lot) – a bit – a little – slightly (= a little)

E.g.: It’s much better. They are a lot more expensive.

He’s slightly taller than her. This one is far more interesting.

You can use any and no + comparative:

E.g.: I’m not going to wait any longer.

Their house is no bigger than ours. OR isn’t any bigger than ours.

We repeat comparatives (better and better, more and more) to say that something changes continuously:

E.g.: Your English is getting better and better.

These days more and more people are learning English.

You can say the … the … (better) to express that one thing depends on another thing:

E.g.: The younger you are the easier to learn. The sooner we leave the earlier we will arrive.

8. Use the words in parentheses to complete the sentences. Use much/a bit etc. + a comparative form. Use than where necessary.

1) You looked depressed this morning, but you look _____ now. (a bit/happy)

2) I enjoyed the evening yesterday. The party was _____ I expected. (far/interesting)

3) You’re walking too fast. Could you walk _____? (a bit/slowly)

4) The problem was _____ we thought at first. (much/serious)

5) This box is too small. I need something _____. (much/big)

6) I’m afraid her illness is _____ it seems. (much/complicated)

7) It’s _____ to study Geography travelling, not just reading books. (a lot/easy)

8) I thought she was older than me, but in fact she’s _____. (slightly/young)

1) This shop isn’t expensive. The prices are _____ anywhere else. (high)

2) I must stop for a rest. I can’t walk _____. (far)

3) I’m fed up with waiting. I’m not waiting _____. (long)

4) I’m sorry I’m a bit late but I couldn’t get here _____. (soon)

5) The traffic isn’t particularly bad today. It’s _____ usual. (bad)

10. Complete the sentences with the suitable comparative structure of the adjectives in parentheses.

1) As the day went on, the weather got _____. (bad)

2) Medicine is becoming _____. (expensive)

3) It’s becoming_____ to find a job. (difficult)

4) That hole in your pullover is getting _____. (big)

5) Since I moved to another country, I got _____. (homesick)

6) As the conversation went on, he became _____. (talkative)

7) My luggage seemed to get _____ as I carried them. (heavy)

8) As I waited for my exams, I was becoming _____. (nervous)

1) It’s hard to concentrate when you’re tired. The more tired you are, _____. (hard)

2) Kate had to wait a very long time. The longer she waited _____. (impatient / become)

3) If you’re studying, you want to make progress. The more you practice, _____. (progress)

4) I like warm weather. The warmer the weather, _____. (feel)

5) I didn’t really like him when we first met. But the more I got to know him, _____. (like)

12. Work in pairs. Look at these photographs and describe what you can see in each of them, using the words given in the box at least once. Make or speculate about these people and their relationships to each other.

13. Compare and contrast the pictures pointing out the pros and cons of marrying young. Use the words in the box below to write a short opinion essay on the issue.

VERBS: be/fall in love, fall out over, get on well, make up, have arguments, spend time apart/together, put up with, talk things over, pay compliments

ADJECTIVES: rocky, challenging, lasting, understanding, enthusiastic, fulfilling