Georgie Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I’m Georgie.
Beth And I’m Beth. You can read along with this podcast and find a worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
Georgie Hi Beth, how are you?
Beth I’m good, thank you. How are you?
Georgie Yes, I’m very well, thank you. Today we’re talking about relationships and particularly romantic relationships.
So, Beth, personal question: are you in a relationship at the moment?
Beth I am, yes, I’m married. So I’m definitely in a relationship. What about you?
Georgie I am not in a relationship. I am single.
Married. So how did you meet your partner?
Beth Well, I met my husband at work in a previous job. We both worked there, and we were friends. And then, yeah, it kind of went from there. And then he was my boyfriend. And now he’s my husband.
Georgie Nice. It’s quite common to meet your partner at work, isn’t it?
Beth Yeah, I think so. And quite a few of my friends have met their partners at work as well. So you’re single, Georgie? Do you like to go on dates?
Georgie Good question. Sometimes I like going on dates, sometimes I don’t. In general, I just really like meeting people. So for me it’s quite a nice way to meet people when you live in a city, but sometimes if you don’t get on with the person, it can be really awkward and uncomfortable.
Beth Yeah. And I can imagine that you end up just asking the same questions to people.
Georgie Yes, you’re right. Sometimes it can feel a bit like an interview. You’re just asking ‘So what do you do?’ And ‘do you have any siblings?’ and things like that. It can be quite boring, but if you think of some more interesting questions, it can be more exciting.
Beth Yeah. So what do you like to do on dates? Do you go out for, for a meal or something like that?
Georgie Usually, I go for a drink with the person. But this year, it’s actually my New Year’s resolution to do more activity dates. So more fun things like playing pool or playing mini golf or something like that. Going for a walk, going for a coffee. Just something different. I think it will be more interesting for me.
Beth Yeah. When I dated, I went to a museum on a first date, to the Science Museum in London, and that was really fun, because it also gives you something to talk about because you’ve got funny things to look at and stuff.
Georgie That’s very true. And also, I feel like you’re not always face to face with the person. It doesn’t feel as intense, maybe. You can have, you can have more silences.
Beth Yeah. That’s true. Otherwise it can be a bit awkward.
Georgie Yes.
Beth So, Georgie, have any of your dates gone really well?
Georgie Yes. Actually, last year I had a date that went well and we started seeing each other, and we went on multiple dates.
Beth OK. So if you are seeing someone, then it’s less serious than being in a relationship. They’re not quite your boyfriend or girlfriend, but you see this person quite a few times and you’re in the early stages, maybe, of a relationship.
Georgie Exactly. So how long have you been married?
Beth I’ve been married almost two years. So we got engaged probably about three years ago.
Georgie And how did he propose?
Beth Well, actually, he pretended that he had got me some earrings. And when I opened the box, they weren’t earrings at all. It was a ring.
Georgie Were you surprised?
Beth I was very surprised, yeah. And I never got my earrings.
Georgie Oh, no. Maybe I’ll get you some earrings!
Beth Oh, thanks.
Georgie OK, Beth, let’s recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation.
Beth We had date, a romantic activity you do with someone.
Georgie We had boyfriend and girlfriend, your romantic partner.
Beth If you are seeing someone, then you are in the early stages of a romantic relationship with someone.
Georgie If you propose, you ask someone to marry you.
Beth And if you’re single, then you’re not married or in a romantic relationship.
Georgie And that’s it for this episode of Real Easy English. To test what you’ve learned, try the worksheet on our website. You can find a link in the notes for this episode.
Beth And next week we’ll talk about money.
Georgie See you then.
Beth Bye.