I think I was just afraid that "significant other" was somebody in addition to a husband (which I don't have)

One would be more than enough, but now I see that "other" refers to a significant person other than myself. Communication is really difficult - think about all the jokes that I miss..

Ragnhild

So sorry Ragnhild. I think you are fantastic. To speak another language other than your own is quite an accomplishment; so you should be very proud of yourself.

And most definitely, significant "one" is the better of the two.

English is filled with many "idioms" making it so difficult to learn.

And idiom (if I remember correctly) is a word or phrase that might use a set of words in a strange or peculiar way.

"No, it wasn't me." The No isn't needed in this sentence. "It wasn't me." is sufficient.

Monday next. This means the Monday following the up coming Monday...confusing even to me!

For instance:

"I'll catch you tomorrow." Obviously doesn't mean that one person is going to be thrown at the other, and the other person will "catch" them. It really means: "I'll see (or talk) to you tomorrow.

Or

"He's on the ball."

Or

"She's a straight arrow."

I'm sure your language has these also.

Sorry about the jokes you might miss. We'll try to make any future ones more understandable.

Kathleen