Talking about Love and Marriage
Robert and Jess are a happily married couple. After dinner, they are relaxing in the living
room…
Jess: Honey, I’ve just read something interesting here in this magazine! Did you know that
there are different types of love?
Robert: No - what are they?
Jess: Here, it says there are five types of love... Ludus, Storge, Mania, Pragma and Eros.
Ludus is playful and flirtatious love. Storge is unconditional love for your family…
Robert: And what about the others?
Jess: Mania is an obsessive love, Pragma is a committed and compassionate love, and Eros is
a romantic and passionate love.
Robert: What about ours? Which category do you think we fit into?
Jess: I’m caught between two types, Storge and Pragma. Let me read the definitions and you
can decide... Storge love develops over a period of time rather than in one mad burst of
passion. Storge love is characterised by compassion, respect, and concern for a partner.
Robert: And Pragma?
Jess: Pragma love is a kind of practical love founded on reason, duty and fulfilling long-term
needs and desires. The focus is on shared goals and ‘making it work’.
Robert: Do I have to choose one of these? I think we’re quite lucky because we have all of
these qualities in our marriage!
Jess: You’re right - I don’t think that love can be defined or even classified by type... Every
relationship is completely unique!
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example sentence | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|
To let down someone | To make someone disappointed when you have not fulfilled a promise. | She promised that she would be there but she let me down. | Feelings |
To break down | 1. To become very upset. 2. When something stops working | 1. She broke down when she opened her results. 2. The lift broke down. | Feelings |
To bring somebody/something down | 1. To make someone lose their powerful position. 2. To make something end. | 1. He brought his boss down by exposing personal emails. 2. The rise in export prices could bring the hospitality industry down. | Feelings |
To bottle something up | To refuse to talk about things when someone is worried or upset. | After his father passed away, he bottled his emotions up and wouldn’t talk to anyone. | Feelings |
To get something across | To make someone believe or understand something | He tried to get his point across but his manager wouldn’t listen. | Feelings |