It’s the season of love as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Teach your ESL students some phrases this week to express their love to their loved ones! Love is one of the most confusing, yet versatile emotions we have. It varies in intensity and involves intimacy, affection and trust.

Love is the motivation for many of our actions and can be associated with positive emotions, like happiness and excitement, as well as negative emotions, like stress and jealousy. Love is arguably the most important topic of humanity, so get your ESL students acquainted with different ways to express their love!

Variations of “I love you”

We say “I love you” to our romantic partners, family and friends when we want to express our appreciation and deep sentiments for them. There are many variations of this phrase including the following.

1) I love you so much. / I love you very much. / I love you a lot.

This is a simple way to express just how much you love someone. By adding words like “so much”, “very much” and “a lot”, you show that your love for them is grand.

2) I love you forever.

This phrase makes people feel warm and fuzzy because forever is a long time and to hear someone say they’ll love you forever gives you a sense of happiness and security.

3) I love you with all my heart. / I love you from the bottom of my heart.

The heart is the love organ. If you want to express your profound love for someone, mentioning your heart will definitely send the message that you love them tons! 

4) I love you more than life itself.

To love something more than life itself shows the deepest depths of love. This tells the other person that you love them more than anything.  

5) I love you unconditionally. 

Using this phrase tells the other person that your love will not change depending on changing circumstances. Parents often have this kind of love for their children!

Expressing love to your significant other

Woo your significant other with the following romantic phrases to add some spark in your relationship. We all want our spouses and partners to feel special and an easy way to do that is with our words. Try the next few phrases and see how they react!

1) You are my one and only. 

Telling your significant other they’re your one and only shows that you don’t want anyone else but them. We all like to feel like we’re the only ones in our partner’s eyes. 

2) I can’t live without you. 

This phrase expresses just how important your partner is to you, that they’re your everything. Be careful when using this phrase though, to not come off as clingy!

3) You are my sunshine. 

All of the world’s energy originates from the sun, so to tell someone they’re your sunshine is to say they’re your source of light and energy!

4) You stole my heart. 

When you tell your partner they stole your heart, you’re saying that they have captivated your love and all your love belongs to them. 

5) Words can’t describe how much I love you. 

The extent of our words limit our ability to express ourselves. With this phrase, you let your partner know that all the vocabulary in the world is not enough to demonstrate your love!

Expressing love to friends and family

We experience love for our friends and family as well, just a different kind of love from romantic love. To show your friends and family how much they mean to you, try the following phrases. 

1) You always make my day brighter. 

We associate light with something good, so letting someone know they make your day brighter tells them that they make your day better. 

2) I love your company.

This phrase lets the other person know you enjoy spending time with them. It’ll make them feel happy to know that their presence is something you cherish.

3) I couldn’t have asked for a better friend/dad/mom.

With almost 8 billion people in the world, to say you couldn’t have asked for a better friend or parent would mean a lot to them!

4) You mean so much to me.

To directly and sincerely let someone know how much they mean to you, use this phrase to show them how important they are in your life.

5) I love you more than [something you love], and that’s saying a lot! 

For example, if you really love coffee, you can say, “I love you more than coffee, and that’s saying a lot!” This is a fun and cute way to express your love to someone.

We hope you enjoyed this article and will be using some of these phrases to express your love to your loved ones this week. Teach these phrases to your ESL students and have them teach you some expressions of love in their own language! What other phrases do you like to use to express your love? Share them in the comments below!