Look at the statements about the tradition of engagement in Britain. Read the text to decide if each statement is correct or incorrect.

1 After the proposal has been accepted, the engagement is announced.

2 Nowadays friend as a rule are the first people to hear about the engagement.

3 A man should meet with his future in-laws as soon as he can.

4 The father is supposed to invite his daughter’s future in-laws to a meal or drinks.

5 Before marriage the engagement ring is worn on the third finger of the right hand.

6 Engagement rings are even more expensive than wedding rings.

7 Among rich people it’s a custom to arrange balls devoted to the engagement.

8 It was the girl’s parents who used to set the date of wedding.

9 It’s the girl’s parents who are supposed to pay the greater part of ensuing costs.

10 The average period of engagement is about 3-4 months.

In Britain the custom of getting engaged is still generally retained, though many young people dispense with it, and the number of such couples is increasing. As a rule, an engagement is announced as soon as a girl has accepted the proposal of marriage, but in some cases it’s done a good time afterwards. Rules of etiquette dictate that the girl’s parents should be the first to hear the news; in practice, however, it’s often the couple’s friends who are taken into confidence before either of the parents. If a man hasn’t met his future in-laws yet he does so at the first opportunity, whereas his parents usually write them a friendly letter. It is up to the girl’s mother to invite her daughter’s future in-laws to a meal or drinks. Quite often, of course, the man has been a frequent visitor at the girl’s house long before the engagement, and their families are already well acquainted.

When a girl accepts a proposal, the man generally gives her a ring in token of the engagement. It’s worn on the third finger of the left hand before marriage and together with the wedding ring afterwards. Engagement rings range from expensive diamond rings to rings with Victorian semi-precious stones that cost only a few pounds.

In most cases the engagement itself amounts only to announcement being made to the parents on both sides and to friends and relatives, but some people arrange an engagement party, and among the better-off people it’s customary to put an announcement in the newspaper.

In the book Etiquette the author writes that “as soon as congratulations and the first excitement of announcement are over, a man should have a talk with the girl’s father about the date of the wedding, where they will live, how well off he is and his future plans and prospects”. Nowadays it’s not often done as young people enjoy more a greater degree of financial independence that they used to and are able to decide these matters by themselves.

But if young people, particularly those of the higher-paid section, often make their own decisions concerning the wedding and their future, the parents, particularly the girl’s, still pay an important part in ensuing activities.

The period of engagement is usually short, three or four months, but this is entirely a matter of choice and circumstances.