Family and relationships

A2 covered the nuclear family: mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter. B1 is where the family tree gets complicated — in-laws, step- relatives, half-siblings, godparents, distant cousins — and where you learn the verbs for relationship stages: meeting, dating, falling out, breaking up, making up, getting engaged, settling down.

In real American life, blended families are common, divorce is normal, friendships are described with as much vocabulary as marriages, and the line between family and close friends is blurry. This lesson reflects that.

Extended family

In-laws — your partner’s family

When you marry someone, their family becomes your in-laws.

• We’re spending Thanksgiving with my in-laws.
• My mother-in-law is staying with us this week.

The plural is mothers-in-law (NOT mother-in-laws) — the -s goes on the noun, not the modifier. But in casual speech most Americans say mother-in-laws anyway. Both pass in conversation; in writing use mothers-in-law.

Step-family — when a parent remarries

The step- prefix means related by remarriage, not by blood.

• stepfather / stepdad — your mother’s new husband
• stepmother / stepmom — your father’s new wife
• stepson / stepdaughter — your spouse’s child from a previous relationship
• stepbrother / stepsister — child of your stepparent (no blood relation)

Half-siblings — one shared parent

A half-brother or half-sister shares one biological parent with you.

• I have a half-brother from my dad’s first marriage.

Compare:

• full sibling — same mom and dad
• half-sibling — one shared parent
• stepsibling — no shared biological parent, just shared parents-by-marriage

Cousins — close and distant

In casual American speech, people just say cousin for almost any extended relative and only specify when accuracy matters.

Other extended family

• sibling — brother or sister (gender-neutral, useful in writing)
• only child — no siblings
• twin — identical twins (look alike), fraternal twins (don’t)
• godparent / godfather / godmother — chosen by parents to play a special role (often religious in origin, today often symbolic or for “if anything happens to us” purposes)
• godson / goddaughter — the child in that arrangement
• next of kin — closest legal relative (used in hospitals, legal forms)

Relationship stages and verbs

This is where most B1 textbooks underdeliver. Modern relationships have more named stages than ever — and most are expressed with phrasal verbs.

Meeting and starting

• We met on a hiking trip and hit it off right away.
• He asked me out for coffee.
• We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.
• We made it official last month.

Going deeper

• fall in love (with) — develop strong feelings
• be head over heels — extremely in love
• move in together — share a home
• be serious — commit emotionally
• propose — ask to marry
• get engaged — agree to marry
• get married / tie the knot — marry
• settle down — commit to long-term life (often = marriage + house + kids)
• start a family — have children
• expecting — pregnant (She’s expecting in June)

Trouble and ending

• have an argument / fight — disagree heatedly
• fall out (with) — have a serious quarrel that damages the relationship
• make up — reconcile after a fight
• go through a rough patch — difficult period in an otherwise good relationship
• drift apart — gradually become emotionally distant
• grow apart — same as drift apart, slightly stronger
• cheat on (someone) — be unfaithful
• break up (with) — end a romantic relationship
• get a divorce / get divorced — legally end a marriage
• separate / be separated — live apart, not yet divorced
• dump (someone) — informally break up with them (She dumped him)
• be ghosted — stop being contacted with no explanation (modern dating)

Examples:

• They went through a rough patch but worked it out.
• We just kind of drifted apart over the years.
• She broke up with him over text — brutal.
• He got ghosted after three dates.

Friendship vocabulary

• best friend / BFF — closest friend
• close friend — emotionally near
• acquaintance — someone you know slightly
• mutual friend — a friend you both know
• work friend — friend only in the work context
• fair-weather friend — only there in good times
• friend of a friend — connected through someone else
• lose touch — stop being in regular contact
• stay in touch / keep in touch — maintain contact
• reach out — initiate contact, often after a gap

Family events and milestones

• wedding — the marriage ceremony
• rehearsal dinner — the night before the wedding (US-specific tradition)
• bridal shower — pre-wedding party for the bride
• baby shower — pre-birth party
• bachelor party — pre-wedding party for the groom (UK: stag party)
• bachelorette party — pre-wedding party for the bride (UK: hen party)
• anniversary — yearly mark of a wedding date or other event
• engagement — period between proposal and wedding
• wedding registry — list of gifts the couple wants
• honeymoon — trip taken right after the wedding
• funeral / wake / memorial service — ceremonies after a death
• family reunion — gathering of extended family
• housewarming — party celebrating a new home

Collocations

• close family / friends / relationship / bond
• immediate family (parents, siblings, kids)
• extended family (cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws)
• estranged from (= no longer in contact, often family) — He’s estranged from his father.
• strained relationship — tense but not broken
• toxic relationship / family member — harmful
• healthy relationship — supportive, balanced
• long-distance relationship
• on-and-off relationship — keeps breaking up and getting back together
• get along (with) — have a good relationship
• get back together — reunite after breaking up

Phrases and expressions

• blood is thicker than water — family bonds are stronger
• like family to me — close enough to be family
• the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree — child resembles parent
• black sheep of the family — the unusual or troublesome one
• runs in the family — a trait many family members share
• see eye to eye — agree, share a viewpoint
• on speaking terms — talking to each other (often after a fight)
• bury the hatchet — make peace after long conflict

Examples:

• She’s the black sheep — the only one who didn’t go into law.
• Anxiety runs in our family.
• We’re not really on speaking terms right now.

American casual / cultural vocabulary

In American English, kid is completely neutral for child — even pediatricians say “your kid”. Child sounds slightly more formal or clinical.

Partner is increasingly the default in modern American English — used regardless of gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. It’s polite to use partner if you don’t know someone’s relationship structure.

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Family used in singular for an event — I have a family today (when meaning “family gathering”). In English, family alone doesn’t mean family event. Say I have a family thing / family dinner / family gathering.
2. Native meaning relative (false friend). Native in English usually means born in a place (native speaker, native of Boston). For Russian родной/родственник, say relative or family member.
3. My second half (calque). Russians sometimes translate “вторая половинка” literally. English uses other half (informal/cute) or partner / significant other / spouse in normal use. My second half sounds slightly off.
4. Marry with — wrong preposition. Marry someone (no preposition) or get married to someone. I married with him → I married him / I got married to him.
5. Make a baby / born a child (calques). Use have a baby / have kids. We’re having a baby in August. Don’t translate родить word-by-word.
6. Cousins including aunts/uncles. Russian двоюродные/троюродные is broader. In English, cousin = child of your aunt/uncle ONLY. Aunts and uncles are aunts and uncles, not cousins.

Summary

• In-laws = your partner’s family. Step- = by remarriage. Half- = one shared parent.
• B1 relationship verbs: hit it off, ask out, go out with, fall in love, propose, get engaged, settle down, fall out, drift apart, break up, get divorced, ghost, dump.
• Friendship has its own vocabulary: acquaintance, mutual friend, fair-weather friend, lose / stay in touch, reach out.
• US events: bridal/baby shower, bachelor/bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, anniversary.
• AmE casual: kid, folks, buddy, pal, bro, sis, SO, partner, ex, roomie.
• Watch out: marry with, make a baby, native for relative, family used as event.

Next theme: Work, jobs, and career — the deepest topic in B1, from job applications to remote work to layoffs.