Opposites Attract: Daily Vocabulary

(TESOL Worksheets--Daily Vocabulary)

Youtube Video--Google: docs, pub -- quizlet-- Slideshow (slides, pub)
(This is re-purposed from my lesson on proverbs).



Opposites Attract
Youtube: https://youtu.be/oKhPLf_PEFQ

Today's vocabulary is a proverb. A proverb is a famous saying that gives you advice about how to live your life.  Today's proverb is opposites attract.  Opposites of course are things that are different, for example: good / bad, black / white,  up /down,  big / little, et cetera. Opposites. In this proverb, it’s used to mean opposite personality types, for example someone who is shy versus someone who is outgoing, or someone who is lazy versus someone who is hard-working, or someone who worries a lot versus someone who is carefree, or someone who likes books and reading versus someone who likes sports and outdoors, et cetera. Now attracts, attract means to cause you to like someone because of the way they look or behave. It is often used in the passive. For example: I am attracted to her meaning I like her. Sometimes we use it in the active: she attracts me. Now, if I say she attracts me it means I like her because attracts means cause someone to like, so if she attracts me, I like her. If I am attracted to her, I like her. Attracts is often used in a romantic sense: boyfriend/girlfriend. But not always. Sometimes it can talk about a friendship. You could be attracted to somebody's personality and want to be friends.  So opposites attracts means, sorry opposites attract, means people with different personality types like each other, often in a romantic way, but again not always. It could talk about a friendship. For example, imagine you're a shy and quiet person. You want to be friends with people who are outgoing and talkative because you are attracted to the opposite. And then also quite often, yes, it is used in a romantic sense.  People are often attracted to a boyfriend or girlfriend who has a very different personality from them. For example, imagine this conversation: “She's really serious about her studies and works hard. He doesn't care about school at all and just wants to have fun.  But they fell in love with each other.  Well, you know what they say: opposites attract.
 So this is a famous proverb in English. Is it true? Some people think so.  Some people don't. Interestingly, we have a proverb also in English with the exact opposite meaning which is: birds of a feather flock together.  Birds of a feather flock together means people will come together with other people of the same type.   Opposites attract means people will want to be with people of a different type. So the two proverbs are contradictory--they have different meanings. Which one do you think is correct? And do you have any proverbs like these in your own language?