Remember and remind in context

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you can use "remember" and "remind" correctly to talk about memory and prompts.

The core difference

"Remember" means to keep something in memory or to recall it. "Remind" means to cause someone else to remember. Compare:

• "I remember her name." (I recall it.)
• "Please remind me of her name." (Cause me to recall it.)
• "He remembered to lock the door." (He recalled the action.)
• "She reminded him to lock the door." (She prompted him.)

"Remember" can be intransitive or transitive: "I remember." "I remember the meeting." "Remember" + to-infinitive means to recall a duty: "Remember to send the email." "Remember" + -ing means to recall a past experience: "I remember sending the email." "Remind" is transitive and usually takes a person: "remind someone (of something)", "remind someone to do something".

Remembering people and things

Use "remember" when you are the one recalling:

• "I remember my first English teacher."
• "Do you remember the password?"
• "She remembers every detail of the trip."
• "I don't remember his surname."

Use "remind" when you prompt someone else:

• "The alarm reminded me to take my medicine."
• "Can you remind me to call the bank?"
• "The photo reminded her of her childhood."
• "Please remind me tomorrow."

"Remind" often appears with "of" to connect a trigger to a memory: "That song reminds me of summer." "The smell reminded him of his grandmother's kitchen."

Common patterns

• remember + noun: "I remember the address."
• remember + to do: "Remember to close the window."
• remember + doing: "I remember closing the window."
• remind + person + of + noun: "Remind me of the meeting."
• remind + person + to do: "Remind me to buy milk."
• remind + person + that clause: "Remind him that the deadline is Friday."

Common mistakes

• "Please remember me to call." Use "Please remind me to call."
• "The photo remembered me of my trip." Use "The photo reminded me of my trip."
• "I reminded to send the email." Use "I remembered to send the email."
• "She remembered him to lock the door." Use "She reminded him to lock the door."
• "I remember to have met him." Use "I remember meeting him" or "I remember that I met him."

Practice

Choose "remember" or "remind" for each sentence.

1. Can you ___ me to buy milk?

2. I ___ my first day at school.

3. The email ___ me of the deadline.

4. She ___ to lock the door.

5. Please ___ me about the meeting tomorrow.

6. He ___ sending the report last week.

7. The smell ___ her of her grandmother.

8. Did you ___ to bring your passport?

Answers: 1. remind; 2. remember; 3. reminded; 4. remembered; 5. remind; 6. remembered; 7. reminded; 8. remember.

A speaking task

Tell a partner five things you remember from childhood and five things you need to be reminded about this week. For example: "I remember learning to ride a bike. Please remind me to call the dentist." This keeps both verbs tied to real memory.