How to Describe Good and Bad Relationships in English! 😃😥

So we all have relationships in our lives.

We have friends, we have relatives,

and sometimes we have good relationships with them,

and sometimes we have bad relationships with them.

In this English lesson,

I'm going to help you learn how to describe

both of those kinds of relationships.

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One of the most common ways to describe a good relationship

in English is to use the phrase to get along.

My brother and I get along.

When we go out together, when we go to a restaurant,

we tell each other funny stories and we laugh a lot.

My brother and I get along.

Maybe you have a friend that you've known for a long time.

And when the two of you get together,

you just really enjoy each other's company.

You would then say something like this.

My friend and I get along.

So one of the most common ways

to describe a positive happy relationship in English

is to use the phrase to get along.

Of course, there are also people

that you do not enjoy being around.

You do not enjoy their company.

In that situation,

we would use the English phrase to not get along.

We would simply use the negative

of the first phrase to get along,

and we would use the phrase to not get along.

My cousin and I haven't talked for many, many years.

My cousin and I do not get along.

It's kind of a sad situation.

I should really call my cousin,

and we should patch things up.

But right now, my cousin and I don't get along.

Maybe there are students in a class that you are taking,

and they talk all the time and they don't work very hard.

You could describe that relationship by saying,

"I don't get along with the students

who sit around me in class."

So a way to describe a negative relationship,

a bad relationship,

is to use the English phrase to not get along.

Another great phrase to describe a positive relationship

in English is the phrase to enjoy each other's company.

When I visit my mom, especially if my aunts are there,

if my mom's sisters are there,

we enjoy each other's company.

Usually they tell me stories

about what I was like as a child.

And it's just a fun time.

We sit and have tea and we enjoy each other's company.

So that's another great way

to describe a positive relationship in English,

to use the phrase to enjoy each other's company.

A phrase you can use to describe a negative relationship

is the phrase to not see eye to eye.

This is a common phrase

when teenagers are talking about their parents,

or when parents are talking about their teenage children.

They might say things like this.

"My dad and I don't see eye to eye."

"My son and I don't see eye to eye."

When you don't see eye to eye with someone,

it means you're not getting along.

It means you're not having fun, enjoyable conversations.

Instead, you're probably fighting and arguing a little bit.

So once again, very common with teenagers and parents,

sometimes they just don't see eye to eye.

Sometimes you've known someone

for a really, really long time,

and you are still really good friends.

You would then use the English phrase to go way back.

I have a friend that I met when I was five years old.

And we're still friends today,

even though we're both in our early 50s.

If someone says to me, "Do you know this person?"

I would say, "Yes, he and I go way back."

I would use the English phrase to go way back

to describe the fact

that we've known each other for such a long time.

So do you have a friend like that?

Do you know someone where if someone asked you about them,

you would say, "Ah, yes, he and I go way back."

I'm sure there's someone in your life

that you do not get along with,

someone who you argue with a lot.

In that situation,

you might use the English phrase to be at odds.

When you say that you are at odds with someone,

that's what it means.

It means that you don't get along.

Maybe there's someone at work,

and when you work together, you argue a lot,

and you disagree on a lot of things.

You could say this,

"My colleague and I are at odds on this current project.

We don't agree on what the next step should be."

So if you want to describe a relationship

where you're not agreeing,

where you're disagreeing and arguing a lot,

you can use the English phrase to be at odds.

In English, we have this funny phrase,

to be like two peas in a pod,

that we use to describe two people who are kind of similar.

They're usually friends

or maybe they're sisters or something like that.

And they laugh at the same jokes.

They have the same sense of humor.

We would then say, "They're like two peas in a pod."

You know how peas grow?

They grow in a pod and every pea kind of looks the same.

So we use this phrase

to describe two people who are kind of similar.

In fact, I have to say this, Jen and her sister, I'll spin,

because Jen's actually pulling the lawn mower out.

Jen and her sister are like two peas in a pod.

They have the same sense of humor.

They laugh at the same things.

It's kind of funny.

They're like two peas in a pod.

So I work in a school, I'm a teacher,

and I like to think I have a good rapport with my students.

When we use the English phrase to have a good rapport,

it means that you have a fun

and good relationship with other people.

Usually, we use this to talk about teachers and students.

Sometimes we use it to talk about a boss and the employees.

We would use the English phrase to have a good rapport.

You would say things like this,

the boss has a good rapport with the workers,

or the teacher has a good rapport with the students.

That means that the teacher and boss are friendly.

They're helpful.

They don't do things that are unfair.

They create a workplace or a classroom

that's just really enjoyable for the people who are there.

They have a good rapport with their students

and their workers.

In English, if you wanted to describe

two people who are really good friends,

you could use the phrase to be the best of friends.

Maybe you know two people

who have been friends for a very long time,

and they're still really good friends today.

You would describe them by saying,

"They're the best of friends."

Jim and Joe are the best of friends.

They've been friends for about 20 years.

And today, they still do all kinds of things together.

They are the best of friends.

If you know two people who no longer talk to each other,

maybe they are relatives, or maybe they used to be friends.

We would use the English phrase to not be on speaking terms.

When you say that two people aren't on speaking terms,

when you use the English phrase to not be on speaking terms,

it means that they had a relationship in the past.

They used to talk to each other,

but they no longer talk to each other anymore.

They have decided that they just don't like each other.

It's not a very nice situation,

but if you know two people in that situation,

you would use the English phrase

to not be on speaking terms.

Well, thank you so much

for watching this little English lesson

about how to describe friendly and unfriendly relationships.

I hope you were able to learn

a little bit more English in this lesson.

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