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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

LOVE IN THE
PANDEMIC

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1 Warm up

What difference has the pandemic made to the following relationships for you?

• family
• friends
• work colleagues
• romantic

2 Focus on idioms

Part A: In pairs, match the idiom to the meaning.

1. to ask someone to marry you a. to be a match made in heaven

2. to develop a new feeling of being in love b. to be head over heels in love

with someone
3. to make someone feel strongly c. to be smitten with someone

4. to be completely in love with someone d. to be the apple of someone’s eye

5. to be loved more than other people or things e. to dump someone

6. to be very attracted to someone f. to have a crush on someone

7. to end a romantic relationship with someone g. to pop the question

8. to be a perfect couple h. to take someone’s breath away

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Part B: Write the idioms in the correct gaps. You may need to change the form of the verb. Two of
them are not used.

1. Has someone, or a situation, ever ? What happened?

2. How do you act when you talk to someone you ? Are you shy? Or do
you keep your cool?
3. Who is the ? Why are they so important to you?
4. If you ever decided to , where would you like to do it? If you have already done it, where were
you?
5. Have you ever someone? How did you do it? Were they upset?
6. Were your parents a ? Why? Why not?

Now answer the questions.

3 Synonyms
Choose the correct synonyms for these words from the text.

1. casual

a. formal b. unimportant c. relaxed

2. down

a. depressed b. quiet c. amused

3. moody

a. angry b. emotional c. sad

4. confined

a. limited b. lost c. empty

5. caring

a. funny b. helpful c. kind-hearted

6. traditional

a. unusual b. conservative c. old

7. suspicious

a. unsure b. guilty c. wrong

8. terrified

a. worried b. crazy c. scared

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4 Skimming
Read quickly through the text and decide which letters (A – C) are written by someone ...

1. who is married?
2. who has no brothers or sisters?
3. who is living with a parent?
4. who is in a long-distance relationship?

Love in the time of Covid-19

You can’t lock the heart down.

We asked readers to tell us about their love problems during the pandemic. Here’s what
they had to say...

Letter A

Joshua, 31 - Penny and I met online before the pandemic started. It started off really
casual, but because we’re both working from home, we talk every day now. We talk way
more than if we were both at work. She’s in Vienna, Austria, and I’m here in Bristol, UK. I
have to say, I’m head over heels in love with her, but we’ve never met in person! Being
locked down has given us chance to really get to know each other. We focus on who we
really are, without all the complications of normal life. She told me last night that
I take her breath away. When we can travel again, I want to go to Vienna and maybe
pop the question! But should I?

Letter B

Kate, 29 - My husband, Alex, hasn’t taken the lockdown well. He’s been down and
moody and hates being indoors all the time. He loves hiking and mountain-biking, so all
of this makes him feel very confined. He hardly speaks to me. So, I’ve been calling and
texting a lot with my friend, Paul. He’s been really caring and understanding. I have to
admit that now I have a crush on him. I’m wondering if I should leave my husband to be
with him. Paul recently admitted that he’s smitten with me. I don’t know what to do.

Letter C

Janet, 20 - My Mom died a few years ago, so it’s just me and Dad stuck at home
together, as I haven’t been able to go back to college with the pandemic. Because I’m his
only child, I’m the apple of my Dad’s eye, and he wants me to take over his business in
the future. The trouble is, I met a much older guy named Tom online, and we’ve been
chatting. I feel like we’re a match made in heaven, but my Dad’s very traditional. I sneak
around and often don’t reply to Tom’s messages for ages so I don’t make Dad suspicious.
I’m terrified Dad will find out, and I’m also worried that Tom will get bored. I don’t want
him to dump me. What do I do?

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5 Understanding the text

Answer the following questions, true or false.

1. Joshua started his relationship with Penny during the pandemic.

2. Joshua and Penny have kissed.
3. Penny hasn’t said how she feels about Joshua.
4. Kate’s husband enjoys being outdoors.
5. Kate has a good relationship with her husband.
6. Paul and Kate see each other in person.
7. Before the pandemic, Janet was at college.
8. Janet’s father owns a business.

6 Talking point

In pairs, answer the following questions.

1. What advice would you give to Joshua in Letter A?

2. What advice would you give to Kate in Letter B?
3. What advice would you give to Janet in Letter C?

Now listen to this person’s advice to the three people.

Do you agree with what he said? Why? Why not?

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7 Extension activity

Read this extra letter about someone in lockdown.

Robert, 45

After about the first month of lockdown, I started to notice my neighbor in the house behind mine. I had
never seen her before because we were both working, but now I see her every day. She’s beautiful and I
think she lives alone. In the summer, we used to talk in the backyard. We got along really well, and I have
a crush on her. When it got colder, it started getting harder to see her. I’m not supposed to go over to her
house, but I would really like to talk to her again. I don’t want her to think I’m watching her, but I do look
out for her. I’m not sure what to do?

What advice would you give to Robert?

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Transcripts

6. Talking point

Narrator: What are my thoughts on the letters? For Joshua, I think he should go for it. Yes, you have
to ask her to marry you! If they get along so well over the Internet, it’s going to be even
better in person!

Narrator: Kate needs to stop being mean and stop talking to Paul. She should be there for her
husband and talk to him about how he feels.

Narrator: Janet needs to grow up. She should respect her father. She’s living in his house, and she
could lose the business. She ought to think about the money she could lose. Forget about
Tom and enjoy your time with your Dad!

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LOVE IN THE PANDEMIC

Key

1. Warm up

10 mins.
Tell students you are going to discuss the effect of the pandemic on romantic relationships in class. First, ask
them to work in pairs or small groups to discuss the effects of their relationships in the following categories. You
may want to allow them some time to note down their thoughts and prepare ideas before they begin. This is an
opportunity for students to really vent their feelings, so allow them to do so with patience and understanding.
You may want to extend this by asking students to think of tips that have helped these relationships during this
difficult time and share them with the class.

2. Focus on idioms

5 mins.
Ask students to guess the meaning of the idioms. You can ask them to find the idioms in the text if you wish, or
you may want to let them do that later. You can then either explain the idioms, or let them use a dictionary to find
the answers.
Part A:
1. g 2. c 3. h 4. b 5. d 6. f 7. e 8. a

Part B:
10 mins.
Ask the students to complete the questions with the correct idiom. Ensure they are aware that they may have to
change the verb form and elicit what those verb forms could be (e.g., Have you ever + part participle). As always,
ensure a supportive atmosphere and be aware that some students may not want to share information like this, so
avoid requesting any answers from students if they don’t want to give them. You may want to extend the activity
by asking them to create sentences for the missing idioms (to be head over heels in love, to be smitten).
1. taken your breath away 2. have a crush on 3. apple of your eye
4. pop the question 5. dumped 6. match made in heaven

3. Synonyms

5 mins.
Ask students to identify the synonyms in the questions. You may want to ask them to find the target vocabulary
in the text or do this after they have completed the comprehension questions.
1. c 2. a 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. a 8. c

4. Skimming

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit on this task to encourage the students to quickly find the information without
reading in depth.
1. Letter B "my husband"
2. Letter C "I’m his only child"

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3. Letter C "it’s just me and Dad stuck at home"

4. Letter A "She’s in Vienna, Austria, and I’m here in Bristol, UK."

5. Understanding the text

10 mins.
Ask the students to read the text more carefully and answer the questions. Ask them to underline the part in
the text that tells them the answer. Ensure students understand the answers. You may want to allow lower-level
students to work with stronger students or use a dictionary.
1. False. "Penny and I met online before the pandemic started"
2. False. "I’m head over heels in love with her, but we’ve never met in person!"
3. False. "She told me last night that I take her breath away."
4. True. "He... hates being indoors all the time."
5. False. "He hardly speaks to me."
6. False. "I’ve been calling and texting a lot with my friend, Paul."
7. True. "I’ve not been able to go back to college with the pandemic."
8. True. "he wants me to take over his business in the future."

6. Talking point

10 - 15 mins.
Ask the students to discuss their reaction to the letters in the reading and what advice they would give.
You may want to give the students the following structures for giving advice:
1. You need to...
2. You have to ...
3. You should ...
4. You ought to ...
Explain that 1 & 2 are strong recommendations and 3 & 4 are ways of suggesting. They should always be followed
by a verb in the base form. Note that need and have change form in the 3rd person, where should and ought to do
not. You may want to model some examples before asking the students to structure their feedback in the same
way. You may want to extend this activity by giving them the script for the listening and getting them to highlight
the above structures.

7. Extension activity

10 mins.
Ask the students to read the extra letter. Then ask them to discuss what advice to give, focusing on the structures
you gave using modal verbs.

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