Humans are social beings, which means that relationships play a key role in our lives. Whether it be a romantic relationship or a friendship, we all have had and continue to have connections to those around us. Since Valentine’s Day happens to fall during the month of February, we’ll be talking about how to use different phrasal verbs to talk about our relationships. In the past, this holiday has been exclusively for couples, but recently it has become more of a day to show how much we care about and love those important people in our lives.
Let’s talk about our friends
Have (someone) over: have somebody visit your house or apartment
o We’re having about 10 people over for dinner on Sunday.
o I’m having Sara over tonight to watch the soccer game.
·Meet up or get together: spend time with a friend in person
o I’m meeting up with Jorge at 9 o’clock tonight at his house.
o We got together last week to plan his birthday party.
·Catch up: talk about new events going on in a friend’s life
o Sara and I finally had a chance to catch up last week.
o Let’s get together soon so we can catch up!
·Get in touch: contact somebody
o If I ever go to Brazil, I’ll make sure to get in touch with you.
o I need to get in touch with my sister. It’s been a long time since we last spoke.
Keep or stay in touch with someone: make an effort to stay in contact with somebody over a period of time
o We should keep in touch after you move.
o Whatsapp makes it easier to keep in touch now.
Lose touch: not have contact with someone
o We lost touch when she moved back to Japan.
o I haven’t been in touch with Alba since things started to get so busy at work.
Fall out with or have a falling out: have an argument or disagreement with someone
o We had a falling out and haven’t talked since.
o I fell out with Anthony about three years ago when he lied to me.
Be close with (someone): have a strong relationship or friendship with another person
o I’m very close with my family.
o Maria Jose and Anna are very close friends.
Let’s talk about couples and romantic relationships
Be interested in someone: like or have feelings for another person
o I’m really interested in her.
o She told me she was interested in him.
Hit on or come on to: try to attract someone romantically. This usually involves a combination of comments and gestures that show you’re interested in that person.
*Note: Flirting with someone is also another way to say “hitting on” someone.
o I thought he was cute, so I started hitting on him.
o She kept on getting hit on the whole night at the bar.
Check out: look at someone with a romantic or sexual interest
o Whenever we hang out it’s hard not to check out his brother because he’s so hot (in this context “hot” means really “good looking” or physically attractive).
o He was checking her out the whole time we were at the restaurant.
Hit it off: have a good relationship or connection from the very first time you meet a person
*Note: can be a connection on a friendship or romantic level
o We hit it off at the barbeque and have been spending time together ever since.
o They hit it off at the party last night.
Ask out: invite someone to go out on a date
o You should ask her out when you see her tomorrow at work.
o She asked him out on a date last week.
Fall for: have strong feelings for someone or to be in love with someone
o They fell for each other instantly.
o He fell for a beautiful, older woman.
Blow off: ignore or choose not to talk to or spend time with someone
o She totally blew me off last week when she said she had “stuff to do.”
o We had plans, but he blew me off at the last minute.
Break up or split up: end a relationship
o She broke up with her boyfriend yesterday.
o They split up after a huge argument.
Make up: to resolve a conflict, apologize or forgive someone.
o They made up after they had a heated argument.
o When are they finally going to make up?
Get over: no longer have romantic feelings for someone or to let go of a past relationship
o She got over him a few months after they broke up.
o It took him awhile to get over her and start dating other people.
Cheat on: be disloyal or have sexual relations with another person while still in an exclusive relationship with someone else.
o She’s been cheating on him for the last few months.
o He cheated on her with a mutual friend.
Lead on: make someone believe or act like they’re interested in someone romantically, when they’re really not.
o He was leading her on so bad at the party last week.
o She led him on when they were flirting at Ramon’s house.
Go Dutch: Each person pays for their own portion of the bill (usually at a restaurant or bar)
o How do you want to pay for the bill? Let’s go Dutch.
o I assumed we were going Dutch when we went out to dinner.
Written by: Monica Jones
Connectors help us to link our ideas, sentences and paragraphs together in English. If you want to speak at an Intermediate or Advanced level you must know how to use these 20 connectors!