Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Memory

Mastering collocations with the word “memory” can significantly enhance your IELTS Speaking and Writing. These expressions allow you to describe experiences, recall events, or talk about personal and historical memories naturally. This guide covers verb collocations, adjective combinations, types of memory, and useful expressions with practical IELTS examples.

Verb + Memory

Certain verbs frequently collocate with memory. Using them correctly makes your language precise and fluent.

Exercise

Complete the sentences with the correct verb:
bring back | blot out | commit | put behind | etch | jog | lose | search

1. I’ve been __________ my memory all week for the name of that guy I was at college with, but all I can remember is it starts with “G.”
2. When I was at school we had to __________ a lot of poems to memory.
3. Elderly people tend to __________ their memory bit by bit and become increasingly forgetful.
4. Listen to it again. It might __________ your memory and help you to remember who the singer was.
5. These photographs __________ lots of great memories of our holiday in Egypt.

Answer Key

1. searching
2. commit
3. lose
4. jog
5. bring back

IELTS Usage Example

“Looking at my old travel photos brings back memories of my school trip to Egypt. I can clearly recall the pyramids and the Nile cruise.”

Common Adjective + Memory Collocations

Adjectives with memory describe the type, clarity, or emotional impact of what is remembered.

Exercise

Complete the sentences with the correct adjective:
distant | earliest | fond | short-term | hazy | living | painful | terrible

1. I have a great memory for faces, but a __________ memory for names.
2. I have very __________ memories of living in the country.
3. Dave’s mother died when he was four years old, so he only has a __________ memory of her face.
4. My __________ memory is of being taken to the park and feeding the ducks.
5. The storms we experienced recently are the worst in __________ memory.
6. My time at university is now a __________ memory.
7. For over thirty years Bernard had suppressed some __________ memories from his troubled childhood.
8. I can remember things that happened when I was a very young child, but my __________ memory is awful.

Answer Key

1. terrible
2. fond
3. hazy
4. earliest
5. living
6. distant
7. painful
8. short-term

IELTS Usage Example

“One of my fondest memories is visiting my grandparents’ house during summer vacations. I can still recall the smell of their kitchen and the garden flowers.”

Kinds of Memory

Understanding different types of memory helps you describe abilities or experiences in IELTS Speaking.

Exercise

Match the memory type with its description:

1. I’ve got a photographic memory.
2. I’ve got no memory for places.
3. I’ve got a very retentive memory.
4. I’ve got a very long memory.

Descriptions:
a. I’ll never forget what you used to do to me at school.
b. I can’t remember whether it was Modena or Turin where we met first.
c. I can see a painting in a gallery and recall all the details days later.
d. I can remember every word of Hamlet’s great speech.

Answer Key

1 – c
2 – b
3 – d
4 – a

IELTS Usage Example

“I’ve always had a retentive memory, so I can remember entire passages from books after reading them just once.”

Useful Expressions with Memory

Common Phrases

• “They have erected a statue in memory of those who died in the wars.”
• “It’s extremely long but he can recite the poem from memory.”
• “If my memory serves me right, he was called Brian.”
• “Memory can play tricks on you.”
• “Che Guevara died years ago, but his memory lives on.”
• “This place holds lots of memories for us.”
• “I was sure I’d met you before, but my memory must be playing tricks on me.”

Refreshing and Revisiting Memory

• “I looked at the map to refresh my memory of the route to the youth hostel.”
• “We returned to our old school for a trip down memory lane.”

IELTS Usage Example

“During the speaking test, you might say, ‘If my memory serves me right, we met at the university library last year.’”

Notes for IELTS Practice

1. Use collocations naturally to demonstrate lexical range.
2. Use adjectives to show the clarity and type of memory.
3. Talk about personal experiences, historical events, or cultural memories for fluency in Speaking.
4. Use expressions like bring back memories, blot out memories, etched in memory to make your answers more vivid and expressive.

IELTS Vocabulary Practice – “Memory” Collocations

Learning collocations with “memory” will make your IELTS Speaking and Writing more natural, fluent, and expressive. Use verb, adjective, and expression combinations to describe personal experiences, recall events, and talk about historical or emotional memories. Practicing these will help you convey ideas clearly and achieve a higher lexical score. 

Also Check: 

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