Remember or Remind?

by Craig Shrives

What Is the Difference between "Remember" and "Remind"?

"Remember" and "remind" are easy to confuse, and they often cause problems for English learners.
  • "Remember" means to think of something from the past again.
    • I remember my childhood. correct tick
    • Can you remember our trip to Sicily? correct tick
  • "Remind" means to make someone think about something again.
    • I will remind you about John's birthday next week. correct tick
    • Can you remind Tony to clean his bedroom? correct tick
remember or remind?

More about "Remember" and "Remind"

Among English learners, there is often confusion over the verbs "to remember" and "to remind."

Remember

The verb "to remember" is used when someone thinks of something again. The sentence doesn't need anything else to say who or what brought back the memory. Remember does not need to take an object, but it can have one.

Example sentences with "remember":
  • Henry suddenly remembered his mother's request. correct tick
    • (Here, "remembered" takes an object.)
  • Henry suddenly remembered. correct tick
    • ("To remember" can be used without an object.)
Synonyms for "to remember" are to recall and to recollect.

Remind

To "remind" is a verb. It always takes an object. It requires two people or things: (1) the subject (the person who is doing the reminding) and (2) an object (the person or thing that is being thought about again).

Example sentences with "remind":
  • Henry reminds me of my cousin Luca. correct tick
  • I reminded the teacher about yesterday's homework. correct tick
Synonyms for "to remind" are to nudge and to prompt.

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See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? Ms., Miss, or Mrs? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are adjectives? List of easily confused words