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Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
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Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder English, baby! Video Lesson
小别胜新婚

Learn English with this relationship English lesson

Date: Jun 28 2021

Themes: Romance

Grammar: Used to Do vs Be Used to

Intro

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Have you ever lived with a spouse or partner? As much as you may love each other, after a while, your partner may start to get on your nerves. Maybe you wish she would wash her dishes more, or that he would stop snoring. Then one day, she goes out of town for a business trip, and something amazing happens. You start to miss her. You start to remember all the things about her that you loved so much. That’s because absence makes the heart grow fonder.

When you have time away from someone, all the day-to-day aspects of their personality aren’t there to bother you. You have time to remember the big things that you love about them. It almost feels as if your heart has room to grow and love again. In your partner’s absence, you can really feel those feelings of fondness, or love, that made you fall for your person in the first place.

Devan’s on vacation away from her husband, Jason. Does absence make her heart grow fonder? Find out in this relationships English lesson.

你是否曾经与配偶或伴侣一起生活?尽管你们彼此深爱着对方,但不久之后,你的伴侣可能开始让你心烦。也许,你希望她经常洗碗,或者希望他停止打鼾。有一天,她去外地出差,然后一些奇妙的事情就发生了。你开始想念她。你开始想起你深爱的关于她的一切。这就是小别胜新婚。

当你离开某人时,他性格中的各个日常因素都不再困扰你。你有时间去想起伴侣身上那些让你爱上的重要东西。你的心仿佛重新有了成长和爱的空间。当伴侣不在身边时,你会真切地感受到最初喜欢或爱上对方的那种感觉。

德凡离开她的丈夫詹森去度假。她会有小别胜新婚的感受吗?在本节恋爱关系英语课上,找出答案。

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Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Devan

Devan

Marni:  So, what’s it like to be back in town?

Devan:  It’s great. And weird. There are all these things that I hated about the city that now seem kind of cool and exciting.

Marni:  Like what?

Devan:  Like all the people and the noise. I even miss the traffic! I used to drive around in my car and listen to the radio, and now I have no idea what’s going on in the world.

Marni:  I guess I can see where you would miss those things, being away from it, but I bet if you moved back to town, all this noise would just totally annoy you. You know what they say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Devan:  That’s probably true. It’s probably because I’ve been away from the city that I miss it so much. But anyway, enough about me. I want to hear about your baby! How is it being a mom?

Marni:  It’s great. I love it. You know, Dawn is just the best. I wake up every day, and when she smiles at me, it just makes my heart melt.

Devan:  That’s great. I can’t wait to meet her.

Marni:  I know. I wish I could have brought her in to work today. You know, it sounds kind of crazy, but even when I’m away from her for just a few hours, I miss her so much.

Devan:  But I thought absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Marni:  I don’t think I could be any more fond of her than I already am. So, how about you and Jason? Are you guys going to jump on the baby train anytime soon?

Devan:  You know, we’re not. We’re both fond of kids and everything, but I don’t think either one of us is interested in becoming a parent. It’s just not in our plan.

Marni:  I respect that. Not everybody has to have kids.

Devan:  And to be honest, Jason’s more into his garden these days anyway. It seems like all those flowers and vegetables are like his children. It’s kind of driving me a little bit crazy.

Marni:  Oh, no. You sound annoyed.

Devan:  I am. I’m cuter than a spinach plant, aren’t I?

Marni:  Totally. Maybe it’s a good idea that you took this trip. You know what they say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I bet Jason is at home, just dying for you to get back.

Devan:  I hope so.

 

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Discussion

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Marni and Devan have gotten together to catch up while Devan is visiting. Devan is glad to be back in town, but it’s making her question whether leaving was a good idea. She wanted to get away from all the noise and crowds of the city, but now she realizes that she missed those aspects of city living.

Marni points out that it’s easier to miss things once you leave them, because absence makes the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it’s even a good idea to go away from something or someone. That way when you see them again, it will be extra great to see them. Devan hopes that this is what happens when she sees Jason again. She feels as if he hasn’t been paying enough attention to her recently.

Do you agree that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Can you think of a time when being away from something or someone made you appreciate them more?

 

Comments

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Naghmeh_M

Naghmeh_M

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

It’s not always true but some times distance let you charge yourself and start your friendship with a full battery.  


How ever I would like to try to be far from my family and friends for a while and see the result.


what if they don’t miss me?


That would be redecules

05:25 AM Jun 08 2015 |

Naghmeh_M

Naghmeh_M

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

It’s not always true but some times distance let you charge yourself and start your friendship with a full battery.  


How ever I would like to try to be far from my family and friends for a while and see the result.


what if they don’t miss me?


That would be redecules

05:25 AM Jun 08 2015 |

Naghmeh_M

Naghmeh_M

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

It’s not always true but some times distance let you charge yourself and start your friendship with a full battery.  


How ever I would like to try to be far from my family and friends for a while and see the result.


what if they don’t miss me?


That would be redecules

05:25 AM Jun 08 2015 |

Naghmeh_M

Naghmeh_M

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

It’s not always true but some times distance let you charge yourself and start your friendship with a full battery.  


How ever I would like to try to be far from my family and friends for a while and see the result.


what if they don’t miss me?


That would be redecules

05:25 AM Jun 08 2015 |

Anelle1

Netherlands

NICE!

01:40 PM Jun 05 2015 |

sara1998

sara1998

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

to tell the truth,I’ve seen many people whom when they were apart they forgot each other but others always say this idiom specially the elders!

06:57 AM May 29 2014 |

1 person likes this

renke

renke

China

Hello!How is everyone going? What is the weather like in your place?

01:43 PM Sep 09 2013 |

1 person likes this

majiaoqin

majiaoqin

China

  Eventhough I agree with that absence makes the heart grow fonder, I do not like too long distance. I really like that I can see my friends often, so that we can talk each other and share everthing in life.


  Of course, if my BF would not paying enough attention on me, I would go some places to get some new fresh and releax myself,but not very long,at most one week.

12:59 AM Aug 31 2013 |

pk371369

pk371369

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I have a friend.However we are very far away from eachother but our heart are very close togather!!!

03:35 PM Aug 30 2013 |

pk371369

pk371369

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Noooooooooooooooo dear peyman .it is wrong! friends should be in your heart not in your eyes!!!!

06:42 AM Aug 30 2013 |

pk371369

pk371369

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

ohhhhhhhhhh yeah I touch it by my heart.not by spouse but by my friend. its a good feel and maybe delicious ;-)

06:30 AM Aug 30 2013 |

1 person likes this

Nicte ha

Nicte ha

Mexico

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?


naaah, I think who can control mind, is able to control everything in his/her life :D


05:34 PM Aug 28 2013 |

ola33

ola33

Japan

I agree with peyman, out of sight, out of mind.

12:52 AM Aug 28 2013 |

mausam

mausam

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

distance is just a test to see how far love can travel 

07:20 PM Aug 27 2013 |

Foundofenglish

Tunisia

i totally agree cuz i just recognise the value of long-distance friendship and through this article i wanna greet my nearest online friend and wish him all luck .

06:00 PM Aug 27 2013 |

1 person likes this

jyotidudy

jyotidudy

India

its realy true absence makes the heart grow fonder now i m away from my mom and dad and i miss u a lot and i miss also my little brother because in rakshaw bandan i was away from my family past 2 years and i miss true love i hve more need tomorrow is janmastmi and i had fast for true love happy janmastmi all of you

05:46 PM Aug 27 2013 |

1 person likes this

Eugennnia

Eugennnia

Russian Federation

Well, if this saying exists, it has a point. Well, being apart helps escape some routine and monotonous aspects of everyday life, like quarrelling about whose turn it is now to wash the dishes or throw the rubbish away. On the other hand, living apart for a while can be dangerous for relationships. There are always temptations around and if you don’t control yourself, you can have a crush on a stranger and ruin your family. So, it depends on a person, I mean on his/her maturity and moral standards.

05:21 PM Aug 27 2013 |

aspire1

Germany

Absence also makes the heart grow fonder because I believe that good memories are stronger than bad ones. So when you get back to a place you haven´t been for a while, you´re more likely to remember what´s nice about it. And when you meet up with a person you haven´t seen for a while you´ve got all the good experiences with that particular person off the top of your head and almost forgotten the little things that might have bothered you about that person. Of course that´s not necessarily true in each case. I´m only talking about little things that might have annoyed you sometimes, but still, that´s just how I feel about it.


People and places can also change while you´re absent. In terms of people, the absence that´s supposed to make your heart grow fonder, shouldn´t be too big of a time frame. Then the saying doesn´t apply anymore, because if you´re absent for too long, your mind starts getting busy with other things and memories of the past fade. That means that you drift apart from a person instead of growing fond.

04:21 PM Aug 27 2013 |

1 person likes this

jef_maiko

jef_maiko

Brazil

I think so, abesence makes the heart grow fonder. This already happend with me, some months ago I travelled to work some weeks and I miss my wife and my son.

04:12 PM Aug 27 2013 |

DarknessLight

Germany

I totally agree with that!


When you’re used to being with someone all the time, and how they were a part in your everyday life, it becomes kinda hard when they’re away. Even if they were sometimes annoying and get on your nerves, you’ll still miss them. Because, you know, you wouldn’t know how valuable someone is in your life until they’re gone.

12:45 PM Aug 27 2013 |

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