--- title: Soft words for hard things: relations and family — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Soft words for hard things: relations and family», a lesson of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Families are complicated, and people use soft words so they do not have to explain quarrels, divorces or who lives wit --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/) / Soft words for hard things: relations… # Soft words for hard things: relations and family Lesson 13 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 20 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/0/) — Families are complicated, and people use soft words so they do not have to explain quarrels, divorces or who lives with whom. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/3/) — Vivid example: a star posts «it's complicated» about a relationship, which means nobody, maybe not even the two of them, knows if they are still together. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/4/) — "Single-parent family" means a family where one parent raises the children. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/5/) — "Blended family" means a family with a stepparent and stepchildren. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/6/) — "Other half" means husband, wife or partner (everyday, UK). - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/7/) — "Better half" means husband or wife (jokey). - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/8/) — "Significant other" means partner (polite, US). - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/9/) — "Plus-one" means the guest or partner you are allowed to bring to an event. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/10/) — "Estranged" means not in contact any more after a quarrel. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/11/) — "We're not close" often means family members do not get on or rarely speak. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/12/) — "Black sheep" means the family member the others are ashamed of. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/13/) — "Living in sin" is an old jokey phrase for living together without being married. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/15/) — "Gentleman friend" means an older woman's boyfriend (old-fashioned). - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/16/) — "Lady friend" means a man's girlfriend (old-fashioned). - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/17/) — "On a break" means a couple has split up for a while and may get back together. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/18/) — "It's complicated" means a relationship is messy or uncertain. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/20/) — "Irreconcilable differences" is the official reason given for a divorce (US). - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/21/) — "On the shelf" is an old, unkind phrase for someone seen as too old to marry (UK). - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/22/) — "Footloose and fancy-free" means single and free of ties. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/23/) — "Family issues" means serious trouble or quarrels in a family. - ← previous: [Soft words for hard things: pregnancy and birth and relations and family](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/12-birth-and-couples/) - next →: [Soft words for hard things: relations and family and children's behaviour](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/) - ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/)