Remember or Remind?

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.
• Can you remember our trip to Sicily?
• "Remind" means to make someone think about something again.
• I will remind you about John's birthday next week.
• Can you remind Tony to clean his bedroom?

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.
(Here, "remembered" takes an object.)
• Henry suddenly remembered.
("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.
• I reminded the teacher about yesterday's homework.

Synonyms for "to remind" are to nudge and to prompt.

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