Welcome to
ESL Printables, the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans,  activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

 


 

 

 

ESL Forum:

Techniques and methods in Language Teaching

Games, activities and teaching ideas

Grammar and Linguistics

Teaching material

Concerning worksheets

Concerning powerpoints

Concerning online exercises

Make suggestions, report errors

Ask for help

Message board

 

ESL forum > Ask for help > What is the difference ?    

What is the difference ?



sweet hannah
Egypt

What is the difference ?
 
Dear ESL teachers,

                          Here I am facing another situation when I know something and can �t explain it. Would you please help me explain the difference between unforgettable and unforgotten .
If I want to describe a weekend I had , I will use " unforgettable" . I feel that " unforgotten comes more with speeches and so.
Do you have any simple explanation to convince my students because they feel they both describe something that we can �t forget.

Thanks in advance

5 Nov 2012      





annabelle1654
Germany

"unforgettable" has a quality of a memory that will stay with you forever.  ex. It was an unforgettable night.  =I �ll never forget it.
 
"It was an unforgotten night". Sounds a bit archaic. "unforgettable"  is used more than unforgotten, which would be in the passive voice, and would mean that I have not forgotten it, but not that it is unforgettable, something which is etched in my brain.
 
This is how I would explain it. Hopefully it �s clear, but I �m sure others will come along and also assist in defining unforgettable and unforgotten.
 
Good Luck!
 
Best regards,
Belles

5 Nov 2012     



IbuLulu
Australia

Unforgettable means the experience cannot be forgotten.
Unforgotten would mean it has not been forgotten at this time, but I don �t think it �s a word that would be used (it doesn �t, for example, appear as a permitted form in Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries) - forgotten is usually negated with not or never. (eg after someone dies you might say they will not be forgotten).

5 Nov 2012     



hussamk2000
Yemen

I support IbuLulu �s answer. Unforgettable is the most common. Unforgotten may be used , but it is not common.
If you describe something as unforgettable, you mean that it is, for example, extremely beautiful, enjoyable, or unusual, so that you remember it for a long time. You can also refer to extremely unpleasant things as unforgettable.
           A visit to the Museum is an unforgettable experience...
           ...the leisure activities that will make your holiday unforgettable.

5 Nov 2012     



yanogator
United States

Yes, we would definitely say "not forgotten" rather than "unforgotten".
 
Bruce

5 Nov 2012