Sunday, September 12, 2010

Trouble with memory?

Many of us have come across people that seem familiar to us, but we fail to fully identify them. What do you say at such times?
Grammar: place (verb) somebody – recognise somebody by connecting him with past experience; fully identify
Examples:
  1. I know that man’s face, but I can’t place him.
  2. Your face seems to be familiar to me, but I’m sorry I can’t place you.
  3. I knew him very well, but I couldn’t place him.
  4. I think I’ve seen her before, but I can’t place her.
When a person tells something to recall some past experience, he is jogging your memory.
Grammar: jog (verb) one’s memory – say something that will help someone trying to remember a thought, event, experience etc.
Examples:
  1. You don’t remember who was with us that day? Here’s a photograph to jog your memory.
  2. Police are hoping to jog people’s memory by showing them pictures of a car used in the robbery.
  3. Alice related a few incidents that helped jog my memory, and I could finally place the man I was talking to.