Single life is a lifestyle choice that many people embrace at different points in their lives. These questions explore everything from the practical aspects of living alone to the freedoms and challenges that come with being single.
Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.
Beginner (A1-A2)
- Are you single or in a relationship? What do you like about your current situation?
- Who are some famous people who are single? Why do you think they have chosen to stay single?
- Are most of your friends married or single? Has that changed in recent years?
- Do you live alone or with other people? Do you like it?
- What do you usually do on a Friday or Saturday night? Do you go out or stay in?
- What is the best thing about having your own space? What do you do with it?
- Do you like cooking for yourself or do you prefer to eat out? What’s your favorite thing to make?
- Who do you spend most of your free time with? What do you usually do together?
- What is the longest time you have spent alone? Was it fun or boring?
- What three things would you buy first if you moved into a new apartment by yourself?
- Do you like going to restaurants alone? What about going to the movies alone?
- Have you ever lived alone? What did you think of it?
- Have you ever traveled somewhere by yourself? What did you do there?
- What kinds of apps or websites do single people use to meet others? Have you ever tried any of them?
- Do your family members ever ask you about your relationship status? How do you feel about that?
Elementary (A2)
- Are there more single people in the city or the countryside? Why do you think that is?
- Do you ever try to set your single friends up on dates? How does it usually go?
- Do you have any friends who love being single or who can’t stand being single? Tell me about them.
- What holidays are hard for single people? Why do you think so?
- What kind of roommate would be the worst to live with? What makes them so bad?
- What do single people in your country do when they want to meet new people? Where do they go?
- What is the hardest thing about living alone? Why?
- What is one thing you can only do when nobody else is around? Why is it easier alone?
- If you could design the perfect single life, what would a typical week look like?
- What is something single people can spend money on that people in relationships usually can’t? Why?
Intermediate (B1)
- Why do some people choose to remain single?
- How do your habits change when you are single versus when you are in a relationship?
- Do you think it’s easier to be single when you’re young or when you’re older? Why?
- Do you like going to parties or do you prefer small get-togethers with a few friends? Why?
- Do single people spend more money or less money than people in relationships? Why do you think that?
- Do you think people feel pressure to be in a relationship? How so?
- Should people live alone at least once in their lives? Why or why not?
- What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about single people? Give me some examples.
- How do your friendships change when your close friends get into relationships or get married? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
- Do you think being single is becoming more accepted in your culture or country? What signs do you see?
- What advice would you give to someone who has just become single after a long relationship? What do most people forget to do?
- How has the number of single people changed in recent years? Why do you think that change is happening?
- How does being single affect the way you make big decisions, like changing jobs or moving to a new city? Is it easier or harder?
- How have dating apps or sites changed how single people meet potential partners? What do you think about those changes?
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- What are some of the differences between married life and single life? Are the differences the same for men and women?
- What are the pros and cons of single life?
- Compare how single life was viewed 50 years ago versus how it’s viewed today. What has changed and what has stayed the same?
- How does being single affect someone’s career opportunities and professional life? How often have you seen this happen?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of raising children as a single parent? How is it different from raising children with a partner?
- In many countries, more people are choosing to live alone than ever before. What are the causes of this trend, and how is it changing society?
- How does the experience of being single differ between men and women in your culture? What creates those differences?
- Some companies market products specifically to single people, such as meal kits for one or solo travel packages. How does this kind of marketing affect the way society views single life?
- What role do family expectations play in how single people feel about their relationship status? How much do they affect you or people you know?
- How do movies and TV shows portray single people compared to people in relationships? Do you think these portrayals are fair?
- Compare the health and well-being of single people versus people in relationships. What factors beyond relationship status affect those outcomes?
- Family members and friends often give relationship advice, but the world they grew up in may have been very different. How do you navigate advice from people whose experience of dating and relationships doesn’t match your own reality?
Advanced (C1)
- Why do societal expectations about single life differ so much between cultures? What factors shape whether being single is seen as a temporary phase or a valid permanent choice?
- Many societies are built around the assumption that adults will form couples: tax systems, housing markets, and social events are often designed with pairs in mind. How does this structural bias affect single people in ways they might not even notice?
- Dating apps use algorithms to match people based on preferences and behavior. How might these algorithms be shaping what people look for in a partner, and could they be making it harder for some people to form real connections?
- Single people often report feeling both greater freedom and greater loneliness. How do these two experiences exist side by side, and what does this tension reveal about what humans actually need?
- How have changing gender roles and women’s economic independence reshaped the social meaning of being single? What resistance or backlash has this change produced?
- In some countries, the number of single-person households has doubled in the past 20 years. How might this shift affect everything from the economy and mental health to the way cities are designed?
- Being single is sometimes seen as a temporary state people pass through on the way to a relationship, rather than a valid lifestyle on its own. How does this ‘in-between’ framing affect the way single people see themselves and how others treat them?
- In many workplaces, married employees are seen as more stable and responsible, while single employees are expected to work longer hours or travel more. How do these assumptions play out in real life, and what does it say about how we value different lifestyles?
- How does the concept of being ‘single by choice’ versus ‘single by circumstance’ reveal underlying assumptions about agency and desirability? Who benefits from maintaining this distinction?
- Social media lets single people curate an image of their life that looks exciting and independent, but it also constantly exposes them to other people’s relationships and milestones. How does this push and pull shape the way single people actually feel about their lives, and is there a growing gap between how single life looks online and how it feels in reality?
- In many cultures, religious institutions, community events, and even government policies are organized around families and couples. When single people don’t fit into these structures, do they create their own communities and traditions, or do they mostly adapt to the existing ones? What real examples of this have you noticed?