Ways To Say “I Love You” (With Valentine’s Day Activities)

 With Valentine’s day coming, why not get your students thinking about how they

can express themselves to the ones they love. Keep reading to get some fun ideas

on how to incorporate Valentine’s Day in your lessons.

Replace Love

Get your students thinking about different ways to say the same thing. Sure, it’s

easy to use those t hree little words (I love you), but there are so many words that

are original and thoughtful, too. Here are some ideas of words that can be used

instead of love:

● adore - “I adore you.”

● cherish - “I cherish you.”

● heart (once just a noun, this word has somehow also turned into a verb for

the younger generation of Americans) - “I heart you.”

● appreciate - “I appreciate you.”

● respect - “I respect you.”

● enjoy - “I enjoy you.”

● respect - “I respect you.”

ACTIVITY: Color-Coded Grammar

Color coded grammar can be a pretty powerful tool for visual learners. Here’s a

Valentine's Day themed color-coded worksheet to get students seeing how

sentences are put together. Great for beginner students!

You’re, Not Your

Something unbelievably confusing for many people (not just English students).

Valentine’s Day love phrases lend themselves well to highlighting the importance

of using y ou’re when speaking to the person you are talking about. Revisit the

grammatical aspects of y ou’re (you + are) and use these phrases as examples.

● You’re my queen / king.

● You’re the light of my life.

● You’re so beautiful.

● You’re the apple of my eye.

● You’re my everything.

● You’re the love of my life.

● You’re my soulmate.

● You’re the one.

ACTIVITY: Grammar Check

A fun activity is to make grammar mistakes on purpose and have students find

and fix them. One way to do this is with pencil and paper, but to make it more fun

and interactive, use sentence strips. Write the sentence on one color sentence

strip and have the students write their fixes on a different color sentence strip,

cut it out, and paste it over the mistake. This is great for beginner to intermediate

students.

For Valentine’s Day, you can use love phrases that use y ou’re and y our . Mix it up

where some do not have any mistakes and students have to leave them as they

are. Here are some phrases using y our to get you started.

● I love your light.

● Your heart is so big.

● Your love means the world to me.

● Your love is appreciated.

● I’m your secret admirer.

Crazy About Love:

Use idioms, phrases, and vocabulary that are specific to love. Here are some

really great ones to start with:

● Apple of my eye

● Lovebirds

● Crazy about you

● Head over heels

● To fall for someone

● Love at first sight

● All’s fair in love and war

● To have a crush

● Soulmate

● Take my breath away

ACTIVITY: Idiom Study

Have students look up love idioms with partners and report back to students on

what they mean with examples. This would be most appropriate for intermediate

and advanced learners.

With Valentine’s day coming, why not get your students thinking about how they can express themselves to the ones they love. Keep reading to get some fun ideas on how to incorporate Valentine’s Day in your lessons.

Get your students thinking about different ways to say the same thing. Sure, it’s easy to use those three little words (I love you), but there are so many words that are original and thoughtful, too. Here are some ideas of words that can be used instead of love:

• ad ore - “I adore you.”
• cherish - “I cherish you.”
• heart (once just a noun, this word has somehow also turned into a verb for the younger generation of Americans) - “I heart you.”
• appreciate - “I appreciate you.”
• respect - “I respect you.”
• enjoy - “I enjoy you.”
• respect - “I respect you.”

Color coded grammar can be a pretty powerful tool for visual learners. Here’s a Valentine's Day themed color-coded worksheet to get students seeing how sentences are put together. Great for beginner students!

It's something unbelievably confusing for many people (not just English students). Valentine’s Day love phrases lend themselves well to highlighting the importance of using you’re when speaking to the person you are talking about. Revisit the grammatical aspects of you’re (you + are) and use these phrases as examples.

• You’re my queen / king.
• You’re the light of my life.
• You’re so beautiful.
• You’re the apple of my eye.
• You’re my everything.
• You’re the love of my life.
• You’re my soulmate.
• You’re the one.

A fun activity is to make grammar mistakes on purpose and have students find and fix them. One way to do this is with pencil and paper, but to make it more fun and interactive, use sentence strips. Write the sentence on one color sentence strip and have the students write their fixes on a different color sentence strip, cut it out, and paste it over the mistake. This is great for beginner to intermediate students.

For Valentine’s Day, you can use love phrases that use you’re and your. Mix it up where some do not have any mistakes and students have to leave them as they are. Here are some phrases using your to get you started.

• I love your light.
• Your heart is so big.
• Your love means the world to me.
• Your love is appreciated.
• I’m your secret admirer.

Use idioms, phrases, and vocabulary that are specific to love. Here are some really great ones to start with:

• Apple of my eye
• Lovebirds
• Crazy about you
• Head over heels
• To fall for someone
• Love at first sight
• All’s fair in love and war
• To have a crush
• Soulmate
• Take my breath away

Have students look up love idioms with partners and report back to students on what they mean with examples. This would be most appropriate for intermediate and advanced learners.