1. This class is very difficult for everyone, so we’re all in the same boat.
2. So many people are in the same boat these days because everyone is having a difficult time with the economy.
3. Do you really think that we are in the same boat? I don’t think so. You have a job, and I don’t. Remember that.
4. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families experienced great social, economic, and emotional struggles, and in many ways, they have found themselves in the same boat.

1. Why is it sometimes difficult for other people to understand your life challenges when they aren’t in the same boat as you?
2. Many international students struggle to fit in when they live in a new country away from their families. Thus, because many of these students are in the same boat, what can they do to adjust better to a new culture and school environment?

As you are riding the train home from work, you run into an old friend from high school. In your conversation, your friend opens up and explains that he is going through a divorce, his father died of cancer two weeks before, and he just lost his job. He then bursts into tears and sobs.

You then tell him that you understand how he feels because you are in the same boat: You have had problems, too. In response, your friend looks at you sternly and exclaims that you have no idea how he feels. “Your problems are nothing like mine.” Now, you feel terrible that you said anything. 

So, how can we validate the struggles of others better and understand them better?

Possible Answer: 

“I can try to be better at listening.”

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom, so you become more confident in using it.