Unit 18 Dating and Friendship

Unit 18 Dating and Friendship

Go out (with) to date, to accompany socially on a single date

             Also: take someone out

             GRAMMAR NOTE: Take out is separable.

             ▪ Dave wanted to go out with the new girl at school, but he was too shy to ask.

             ▪ Mr. Nguyen took his fiancee out to a fancy restaurant on her birthday.

Go with to date on a regular basis

             Also: go steady (with)

             USAGE NOTE: Go steady is not commonly used by younger people. Go out with can also be used for a series of dates.

             ▪ Ula has been going with Sven for several months.

             ▪ Frank lets his girlfriend wear his jacket because they’re going steady.

             ▪ How long have you been going out with your friendly neighbor?

Blind date a date with a person whom one has not met before

             ▪ My roommate arranged a blind date for me so that I’d have someone to go to the party with.

             ▪ Sam didn’t want to go on a blind date, but he actually enjoyed I t very much.

Fix up (with) to arrange for two people to date

             Also: set up (with)

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: Fix up and set up are separable. The subject of the sentence is the person who arranges the date for another person.

             ▪ Craig didn’t have a date for the dance, so he was glad when his older bother fixed up up.

             ▪ The single mother’s sons finally succeeded in setting her up with a date.

Old flame a previous boyfriend or girlfriend

             Opposite meaning: new flame

             ▪ Kim was surprised when she accidentally met an old flame at the supermarket.

             ▪ Fred’s new flame has caused him to forget completely about his difficult divorce.

Break up (with) to end a relationship, to stop dating

             Also: split up (with), break off

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: Break off is separable.

             ▪ In the United States, 50 percent of all married people eventually break up.

             ▪ Dwight split up with his wife after ten years of marriage.

             ▪ The two high school students were tired of dating each other, so they broke their relationship off.

Stand someone up to fail to appear for a date, to leave waiting, to cancel at the last minute.

             GRAMMAR NOTE: The idiom is separable, and the object is usually after the verb.

             ▪ I can’t believe that Lydia stood Jake up last night without even calling him.

             ▪ Juergen waited an hour for his date, but it was obvious that she had stood him up.

Make up (with) to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement

             Also: get back together, bury the hatchet

             ▪ After two days of not talking to each other, Casey and Ann made up.

             ▪ Cindy tried to make up with her boyfriend, but he was still too upset.

             ▪ When two married people split up, they sometimes get back together at a later time.

             ▪ Let’s bury the hatchet and try to fix the problems in our relationship.