Vocabulary Builder: Love and Marriage

Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th.

– Are you married?

– Yes.

– How long have you been married?

– We got married in 2001.

– Do you remember how you popped the question?

– Yes, I took my then girlfriend to the beach and we walked out to a rocky point and I got down on one knee the best I could and pulled out a ring and then I asked her if she would marry me.

Pop the question – this expression means

a. to ask someone on a date

b. to ask someone to marry you

c. to ask someone his/her age

d. to ask someone to kiss you

This expression means: to ask someone to marry you

Example: He got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and popped the question.

– Where did you two exchange vows?

– We got married on Lovells Island in the bay in Massachusetts.

Exchange vows – this expression means

a. to look at each other with love

b. to give each other addresses, phone numbers etc.

c. to kiss each other

d. to get married, to have a wedding ceremony

This expression means: to get married, to have a wedding ceremony

Example: They exchanged vows on a beautiful island. – In other words: They had their wedding ceremony on a beautiful island.

Vow is a solemn promise, a very special promise. So when you exchange vows you’re exchanging promises how you will love each other and how you will care for each other for the rest of your lives.

– Did you have a honeymoon?

– Yes, we had our honeymoon at Martha’s Vineyard.

Honeymoon – this expression means:

a. beautiful weather

b. a wedding dress

c. a wedding trip/vacation

d. a romantic dance

This expression means: a wedding trip/vacation

So this is the trip or vacation people take just after they get married.

Example: They went to Martha’s Vineyard for their honeymoon.

We can use honeymoon with different verbs. Let’s look at the following phrases:

Go somewhere on your honeymoon.

Spend your honeymoon somewhere.

Have your honeymoon somewhere.

Take your honeymoon somewhere.

So now let’s try an exercise:

Complete the statement with one of the new expressions. Each expression will be used only once.

Choose from the following:

– pop the question

– exchange vows

– honeymoon

1. Ellen and David decided to go to Hawaii on their ……. . They will spend 10 days travelling to the different islands.

Answer: honeymoon

2. Did you know that in Las Vegas you can …… in a helicopter over the city? How many people can say that they had their wedding in the air?

Answer: exchange vows

3. Benjamin was ready to …… . He had been practicing what he was going to say to his girlfriend every day for over a week.

Answer: pop the question

Thanks for watching. Happy studies!