The Feeling We Never Forgot
Grammar: Verbs followed by infinitives vs. gerunds — meaning and register
A Level 5 English lesson exploring psychology.
What's in this lesson
A Level 5 (advanced) ESL lesson on psychology, practising verbs followed by infinitives vs. gerunds — meaning and register. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Feeling We Never Forgot
There is a particular kind of memory that never quite fades: the moment a parent said something unexpected, the first time you felt genuinely proud of yourself, or the afternoon a teacher chose to believe in you when nobody else did. Psychologist Dan McAdams, who spent decades studying life narratives at Northwestern University, argued that we do not simply remember our childhoods — we construct them. The stories we keep telling ourselves about who we were at seven or twelve turn out to shape who we decide to become at thirty.
Vocabulary
- come across
- go back to
- hold onto
- set aside
- construct
- exaggerate
- report
- revisit
- shape
Grammar
- Infinitive — purpose
- She chose to revisit the memory with curiosity. — decision or intention after a verb of will
- Gerund — habit or fact
- Avoiding a memory does not make it disappear. — ongoing habit or general truth as subject
Discussion questions
- What is your earliest clear memory?
- Do childhood experiences define who we become as adults?
- Is it better to talk about difficult memories or leave them behind?
The Feeling We Never Forgot
Grammar: Verbs followed by infinitives vs. gerunds — meaning and register
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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