"The Difference Between Remember and Remind: Understanding Memory and Communication"

No one is perfect, we cannot remember everything. When this happens, all we need is a reminder! But wait, why is this word so difficult for English learners? Why do people forget the difference? The answer is because in other languages such as Spanish and Portuguese, there is no difference.

• "I forget when your birthday is, can you please remind me?"

• "You don't have to remind me, I remember when your birthday is."

Study the sentences above. In the first sentence, the subject asks to be reminded. In other words, they are asking for help to remember something. In the second sentence, the subject is stating that they remember then the birthday is, they do not need help remembering. So, what is the difference? We will go over each word now.

Remember

• "My mom remembers everything, but my dad is the opposite, he forgets everything."

In the sentence above, the clauses state opposite information. The definition of remember, according to Cambridge Dictionary is: to be able to bring back a piece of information into your mind or to keep a piece of information in your memory.

An easy way to remember the meaning: it is the opposite of forget. If you remember something, you keep it in your mind and are able to think about an event or piece of information later.

• I remember my childhood home vividly.

• She couldn't remember where she left her keys.

• They always remember to bring their umbrellas on rainy days.4

Now, you will see that remember used a command. In the examples below, we are telling them to remember to do something. The structure is: Remember + to-infinitive means that we don’t forget to do something.

1. Remember to lock the door before you leave.

2. Remember to buy milk on your way home.

3. Remember to turn off the lights when you're done.

Each of these examples are used as an instruction or reminder.

Remind

• "He never remembers anything, I always have to remind him."

• "I had to remind him about my birthday."

How do we help someone remember a birthday? How can we make someone remember to buy milk? Well, we remind them. The definition according to Cambridge Dictionary: is to make someone aware of something forgotten or possibly forgotten, or to bring back a memory to someone.

1. "Could you remind me to call my doctor tomorrow?"

2. "I need to set an alarm to remind me to take my medication."

3. "Please remind Sarah about the staff meeting at 2 p.m."

Ahh, the sweet smell of apple pie. There are different smells, songs, movies, places, and more that bring us back in time. When something causes us to think about a past memory, we are reminded of a past event.

1. "The old photographs reminded me of my childhood."

2. "Listening to that song reminds me of my high school prom."

3. The smell of freshly cut grass always reminds me of summers at my grandparents' house."

Each of these examples brings up a past memory and reminds us of the past. So, remind can be used to make people think of an event so they do not forget, and it can also bring us back in time and make us remember past memories.

Homework

Remember, it is important to practice what you learned, but do not worry, I will keep reminding you to study and practice!

Your homework is to write a small paragraph about events you remember from the past, and what you need to be reminded about.