How Romance Ruined Love

B1 – Intermediate

In movies, love stories usually end with the main characters getting together or more romantically, married. But what they don’t show us is the reality of it all — our jobs, problems, families, children. Everything that could really affect any romantic relationship.

Romanticism taught us ideas about love that are often times far from reality.

Listen to the podcast below then be ready to share your thoughts about how romanticism ruined love.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-170216

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
  2. What did the podcast say about love today?
  3. Share your thoughts on this statement: “It’s one thing to enjoy romance, but it can be dangerous to judge your relationship against romantic ideals.“.
  4. Do you believe in ‘love at first sight’ ? Why or why not?
  5. They say, “A relationship is hard work.”. What is your opinion on this?
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22 replies on “How Romance Ruined Love”

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
– According to the podcast the romanticism is a movement that started in Europe and spread worldwide. It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved. It affects us in the romantic ideas. Many of these ideas still continue today.

2. What did the podcast say about love today?
– That love is idealised as it is showed in movies when normally a relationship has flaws and has to be worked on.

3. Share your thoughts on this statement: “It’s one thing to enjoy romance, but it can be dangerous to judge your relationship against romantic ideals.“.
– Like every other aspect in life, comparing your relationship/job/life with others can put you in a difficult place. Your self esteem can be affected and it is possible you are never satisfied of what you have, since there is always someone in a better situation than you. Therefore, I think the best you can do is live your life, and if you are happy with your relationship, enjoy it without thinking if it’s or not ideal.

4. Do you believe in ‘love at first sight’ ? Why or why not?
– I think it can happen, or at least I want to believe it. However, I think that the first thing that comes is attraction, and it can be physical attraction or having to do with the way you are and interact with each other. And that’s why I think you have to meet the person before you can say you love him, cause sometimes there can be physical attraction but you don’t connect in a mental or emotional way.

5. They say, “A relationship is hard work.”. What is your opinion on this?
– I agree with the statement that love is hard work. A big part of a relationship is wanting to make it work, even if you don’t agree with everything. Therefore, sometimes you will have to adapt and do things that maybe are not of your liking.

Welcome to the Phone English blog! Nice work for your first entry!

See how this sentence can be better expressed:

It affects us in the romantic ideas.

It has affected our idea of romance.

Hope this exercise helps you practice and improve your skills more.

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
– Romanticism is a cultural movement that started on Europe. It is related to music, art and even the way we think about love and relationships.

2. What did the podcast say about love today?
– Love today has to fight against daily tasks that absorb all our time and are not that romantic: paying bills, going grocery shopping, cleaning the house… But that’s not necesarily bad: it’s ok because it’s real! And romanticism is just an idea, a concept. I like to see it as an aspiration, but never a real goal. According to the podcast, this might be one of the reasons why couples break up and divorce so often.

3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
– I like it, actually. It is just another excuse to expend money, of course, but nobody forces us to buy anything. The point is, our daily lives are busy and noisy; of course, we can (and should) celebrate love everyday. But also being thankful, being a nice person… and we still celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like to take this dates as some kind of reminder to stop a moment and enjoy what really matters.

4. How would you define relationship?
– A negotiation between two or more persons: I am with you because I want something from you (love? Friendship? Your attention?) and you want something from me. It is not concious, but in the end relationships (of any kind) end once “the contract” is broken: I have no longer your love, I don’t have time to offer or I betrayed your trust on me, for example.

Welcome to the Phoneenglish blog! Hope you take advantage of this exercise to practice your writing consistently.

Take a look at how to write this sentence better:

A negotiation between two or more persons: I am with you because I want something from you (love? Friendship? Your attention?) and you want something from me.

A relationship is a negotiation between two or more persons. If I am with you, it’s probably because I want something such as love, friendship, or attention from you (love? Friendship? Your attention?) and in return, you want something from me.

Looking forward to reading more from you.

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
According to the podcast the romanticism is a movement that started in Europe and spread worldwide. It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved. It affects us in the romantic ideas. Many of these ideas still continue today.
2. What did the podcast say about love today?
The love is not 100 % perfect. All relationships must be worked.
3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
I don’t like Valentine’s Day. It is another excuse to make people spend money.
4. How would you define relationship?
The way in which two or more people or things are connected. Good communication and good connections.

Well done practicing your writing skills through this exercise.

Here is one sentence you can improve:

The way in which two or more people or things are connected. Good communication and good connections.

A relationship is the way in which two or more people or things are connected. It requires/involves good communication and good connection.

Keep going with your practice!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? Romanticism is a movement that started in Europe and spread worldwide and influenced almost everything.
How did it affect us? it influenced the way we behave, somehow it showed us what was supposed to be love and a how a relationship should be.
2. What did the podcast say about love today? Love defines our relationships today and love is idealized.
3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day? Its not necessary to have a day to express love towards your partner. Ypu have to do so everyday. It was made by big malls
4. How would you define relationship? A relationship based on simple roots. Good communication and good connections. Shared interest and empathy.

Great that you are doing this exercise with the goal of improving your writing skills further.

Here is how you can reword this sentence to make it better:

It was made by big malls

I think this day was started by big malls in order to increase their sales.

Keep going to see your skills significantly develop along the way. You’ve got this!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
Romanticism is a movement that started in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century and spread worldwide.
It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved.

We grow up hearing these romantic stories, which leads us to develop an idea of what a relationship is meant to be… and then we get disappointed by the real thing

2. What did the podcast say about love today?
– it can be dangerous to judge the relationship against romantic ideals
– it might not be a realistic benchmark, and by that I mean ‘a standard
from which other things are judged’.

3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
For me, Valentine’s Day is a business.
Just another day for people to consume.
I do not think it is wrong for people to have a day
to have a detail with your partner ,
but I think this should not be decided by a calendar day.

4. How would you define relationship?
In relationships you have to be realistic,
you can’t idealize a person because no one is perfect,
you have to find someone who is a good friend and with
whom you are prepared to have good and bad times.
If you are not realistic, the relationship will never work.

Welcome to the Phoneenglish blog! Good work writing your answers.

Here is a bit better way to express this sentence:

I do not think it is wrong for people to have a day
to have a detail with your partner ,
but I think this should not be decided by a calendar day.

I do not think it is wrong for people to have a special and memorable day to have a detail with your their partners, but I think this should not be dictated by a calendar day.

Keep practicing your writing to see more improvement in your skills.

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
Romanticism is a movement that started in the 18th century, and it is still have a lot influence on people’s relationships. It affect us because this movement creates an idealized version of what relationships should be, but it is not a real situation, and people can be dissapointed.

2. What did the podcast say about love today? The podcast said that love is idealized, and the speakers reinforce that idea by asking some people about their partners.

3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day? I love Valentine’s day although I know that it is a commercial day. However, I think it is a good excuse to spend some time with your partner, and make something special.

4. How would you define relationship? I think people are in a relathionship if they spend some quality time together, and they respect and love each other.

You wrote your answers to this lesson’s discussion questions quite well. Great job!

Take a look at how to write this sentence better:

It affect us because this movement creates an idealized version of what relationships should be, but it is not a real situation, and people can be dissapointed.

It affects us because this movement creates an idealized version of what relationships should be like, but it is not a real situation, and people can be dissapointed.

See you in your next entry!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism?
Romanticism was a movement that started in late 18th century.
The literature, music, art and poetry was influenced by the Romanticism movement.
How did it affect us? Its affect us in the way we see our love relationships nowadays.
2. What did the podcast say about love today?
Love today is always compared with the ideal of romanticism that gave us the 18th century. In some cases, this can be desipointed because in fairy tails we only see the good part
and all relationships have bad parts as well.
3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
I think Valentine’s Day is a Commercial holiday and hasn’t nothing to do with people being inlove or cherish a love relationship.
Nevertheless, I do appreciate when my husband has a romantic detail with me and I try to do the same with him.
4. How would you define relationship?
After twelve years of marriege, I can say that my husband is my best friend, my confident and my lover.
I think a good relationship, no matter if is frindship or romantic, needs good communication and respect for each other.

Good work practicing your writing as much as you can.

Here is a sentence you can improve a bit more with proper spelling:

After twelve years of marriege, I can say that my husband is my best friend, my confident and my lover.

After twelve years of marriage, I can say that my husband is my best friend, my confidant, and my lover.

Cheers to more entries from you in the future!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism?
“Romanticism was a movement that started in Europe (towards the end of the 18th century) and spread worldwide. It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved”
-How did it affect us?
Many of the ideas about the love at the present time are originated from the romantic era.
2. What did the podcast say about love today?
The persons in the postcast speak about that all relationships must be worked, It´s an irreal benchmark and it may be dangerous to judge the relationships against romantic ideals.
3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
It´s a good day for the sellers… but all of us like the idea.
4. How would you define relationship?
It´s a commitment between persons in love based in the respect, support in the problems and sharing the good things of life.

Your dedication in making your writing skills stronger is very commendable. Keep going with it.

Take a look at how this sentence can be improved:

It´s a commitment between persons in love based in the respect, support in the problems and sharing the good things of life.

It´s a commitment between people in love based on the respect, support in difficult times, and sharing the good things in life with each other.

Look forward to more improvements in your writing. You can definitely do it!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
Romanticism was a movement that started in Europe and spread worldwide. It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved.
It affects us in how we live ours loves and relationships.

2. What did the podcast say about love today?
A lot of what we believe about love today – for example, the idea that two people will live happily ever after – comes from the romantic period.

3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
I think that it is a commercial day.

4. How would you define relationship?
It is a relationship with someone that you love, respect and share.

It is so good that you keep practicing. Do not forget to express more. For example, instead of only saying, “I think that it is a commercial day.”, you can write why you consider it a consumerist day. Try to write at least 3 sentences for each response so there are more details in your answers.

See how you can better write this one:

It affects us in how we live ours loves and relationships.

It affects us in how we live ours love and handle our relationships.

Keep going with this exercise to further improve your writing!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
Romanticism was a movement that started in Europe and spread worldwide. It influenced literature, art, poetry, music and the way people behaved. It influenced in how we see love and relationships.
2. What did the podcast say about love today? That we grow up seeing romantic stories and we get disappointed by the real thing.
3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day? I think it became a commercial party and you feel an obligation to buy gifts from your partner.
4. How would you define relationship? It’s sharing your life with another person you love and respect and being better together.

Great job answering this lesson’s discussion questions.

See how you can write this sentence a bit better:

I think it became a commercial party and you feel an obligation to buy gifts from your partner.

I think it has become a commercial holiday and you feel an obligation to buy gifts for your partner.

Keep up the good work!

1. According to the podcast, what is romanticism? How did it affect us?
Romaticism was a movement it was toward at the end of 18thcentury. It influenced on the art , poetry, music and the way people behaved

2. What did the podcast say about love today?
Some of we believe about the love today as the idea that two people will live happily ever after – comes from the romantic period

3. What is your opinion about Valentine’s Day?
It´s a commercial day, artificial, without relation with the real love.
4. How would you define relationship?
A long relationship with a lot of respect, tolerance, freedom and friendship.

It’s great to see you staying consistent with your practice here. Do not forget to be as detailed as possible in your answers so you can practice expressing yourself in writing more.

Take a look at how you can better write this response:

Romaticism was a movement it was toward at the end of 18thcentury. It influenced on the art , poetry, music and the way people behaved

Romanticism was a movement that came about towards at the end of the 18th century. It influenced on the arts, poetry, music, and the way people behaved.

Keep going with this exercise.

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