Relationship (Phrasal verbs) Flashcards
Get on (br) get along with (us)
Two people who have a good relationship are often said to get on (well):
- I get on really well with both of my brothers.
- We’re getting on much better now that we don’t live together.
- He doesn’t get on with his daughter.
to fall out (relationship)
Meanwhile, people who stop being friends after an argument are frequently said to fall out:
- The brothers fell out over money.
(informal) to argue with someone and stop being friendly with them: - He left home after falling out with his parents.
- She’d fallen out with her boyfriend over his ex-girlfriend.
take to sb (first meet / relationship)
The first time we meet another person. If we like them, we may say that we take to them. To start to like someone or something:
- His wife took to her new neighbours at once.
- She’s taken to tennis like a duck to water (= she likes it and is good at it).
took against sb/sth (relationship)
if, (as sometimes happens), we decide that we do not like them, we may say that we take against them:
- I hadn’t met Jamie’s girlfriend before but I really took to her – I thought she was lovely.
- Tom took against Rebecca because she said something mean about his friend.
- I think she took against me when I got the promotion she wanted.
hit it off (relationship)
If we very much like someone that we have just met and become friendly immediately, we sometimes use the informal phrasal verb hit it off:
- I introduced Jake to Ollie and they really hit it off. (Notice that ‘it’ is always part of this phrase.
hit it off informal
to like someone and become friendly immediately:
- I didn’t really hit it off with his friends.
- Jake and Sue hit it off immediately.
puts sb off sb (relationship)
If one particular thing about a person you have just met makes you not like them, you may say that it puts you off them:
- Kate’s husband was very rude to our waiter and it put me off him a bit.
To make someone dislike something or someone, or to discourage someone from doing something:
- The smell of hospitals always puts me off.
- You have to work long hours and that puts off a lot of people.
- His attitude put me right off him.
- [+ -ing verb] Personally, I didn’t enjoy the film, but don’t let that put you off going.
fall for sb (relationship / romance)
- Dan was good-looking and charming and I just fell for him. (informal)
- She always falls for older men.
- He’s fallen for her in a big way.
going out (together) (relationship - romance)
A common way to say that two people are having a romantic relationship is to say that they are going out (together):
- Ava and Isaac have been going out for over a year now.
To have a romantic and usually sexual relationship with someone:
- How long have you been going out with him?
- They’d been going out (together/with each other) for almost five years before he moved in with her.
go through difficulties / go through a bad patch (relationship - romance)
Sadly, not all romantic relationships last. If a couple start arguing a lot, you might say they go through difficulties, (often in the phrase ‘go through a bad patch’):
- Charles and Sophie went through a bad patch a while back, but I think they’re over it now.
- I’ve been going through a bad patch recently.
- You’d think his children would be more sympathetic towards him after all he’s gone through (= the many bad things he has experienced).
go through a bad/difficult/rough/sticky patch
informal
to experience a lot of problems in a period of your life:
- Andy’s going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment - his wife wants a divorce.
Drift apart (relationship - romance)
If, over time, a couple gradually become less close until the point when the relationship ends, you may say that they drift apart:
- There was no big argument – we just gradually drifted apart.
split up or break up (relationship - romance)
If a married couple or a couple who are going out split up (informal) or break up, they end their relationship.
- Jenny and George have broken up.
- She’s just broken up with her boyfriend.
- She split up with her boyfriend last week.
make up (also UK make it up)
make up (also UK make it up)
to forgive someone and be friendly with them again after an argument or disagreement:
- They kissed and made up, as usual.
- (UK) We often quarrel but we always make it up soon after.
