Remember and remind describe memory from two sides. Remember happens inside your own head: you keep something in your memory or call it back. Remind happens from outside: a person, a note or a song makes you think of something.
The grammar shows the difference. Remind always needs a person: remind me, remind her, remind the class. Remember does not: "I remembered", "remember the keys".
This page gives the inside and outside test, eight examples and 15 questions. Every answer says who holds the memory and who makes it appear.
What each word means
remember
remember (verb): to keep something in your memory or bring it back. "I remember his name." "Remember to lock the door."
remind
remind (verb): to make someone remember something. It takes a person after the verb: remind me. "This song reminds me of summer."
The rule
Remember happens in your own head
- Remember + something: remember the date, remember his name, remember the way.
- Remember + to do something: remember to call her. The action is still in the future.
- Remember + -ing: remember visiting Rome. The action is in the past.
- Remember that + clause: "I remember that the shop closes early."
Remind needs a person
- Remind + person + to do something: "Remind me to call her."
- Remind + person + about something: "She reminded me about the meeting."
- Remind + person + of something: "You remind me of my brother" means you are similar to him.
- Something reminds someone of something: "This song reminds me of school." A thing can be the subject too.
The inside and outside test
- Is the memory inside the subject? Use remember.
- Does another person or thing make the memory appear? Use remind.
- Is there a person straight after the verb? That is the remind pattern.
- Can you replace the verb with make someone think of? Use remind.
Traps to watch
- Remember me to call her is wrong when you want a reminder. Write remind me to call her.
- Remind your passport is wrong: the subject cannot remind a thing without a person. Write remember your passport.
- Remind about is for practical things such as meetings. Remind of is for similarity and memories.
- Remember that does not take a person directly: "remember that the shop closes early", or remind me that it closes early.
How to remember
The trick: You remember by yourself; someone else reminds you. If a person comes straight after the verb, the verb is remind.
Examples
- I cannot remember his name.The memory is inside the speaker, so remember is correct.
- Please remind me to call her.The speaker asks for help with the memory, so remind is used.
- Remember to lock the door.The action is in the future and the subject does it alone.
- She reminded me about the meeting.Remind takes a person, then about the practical thing.
- I remember visiting Rome as a child.Remember + -ing describes a past memory.
- This song reminds me of my school days.The song makes the memory appear, and of introduces the memory.
- He remembered my birthday.The subject kept the date in his own head.
- The teacher reminded us to bring our books.Remind + person + to do is the teaching pattern.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Remember me to buy milk. Right: Remind me to buy milk.
- The speaker asks for a reminder from someone, so remind is correct.
- Wrong: Please remind your passport. Right: Please remember your passport.
- The subject keeps the passport in mind alone, so remember is needed.
- Wrong: She reminded that the shop closes early. Right: She remembered that the shop closes early.
- Without a person after the verb, the memory is her own, so remember is correct.
- Wrong: I remind his face. Right: I remember his face.
- The memory is inside the speaker, and remind needs a person.
- Wrong: He reminds me to my uncle. Right: He reminds me of my uncle.
- Remind of introduces similarity, and of is the correct preposition.
Practice drill
Answer all 15 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
I cannot ___ his name.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. remember The memory is inside the speaker, so remember is correct.
Please ___ me to call her.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. remind The speaker asks for help with the memory, so remind takes me.
___ to lock the door.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Remember The future duty is inside the subject, so remember is correct.
She ___ me about the meeting.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. reminded The practical reminder takes a person, so reminded is correct.
I ___ visiting Rome as a child.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. remember Remember + -ing describes a past memory inside the speaker.
This song ___ me of my school days.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. reminds The song makes the memory appear, and remind of is the pattern.
He ___ my birthday.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. remembered The subject kept the date in his own head, so remembered is correct.
The teacher ___ us to bring our books.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. reminded Remind + person + to do is the correct pattern.
I ___ to buy milk, so we have some now.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. remembered The speaker kept the shopping task in her own mind, so remembered fits.
The alarm ___ me to take my pills.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. reminds The alarm makes the memory appear, and a person object follows remind.
Do you ___ where we parked?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. remember The question asks about the listener's own memory, so remember is correct.
She looks just like her mother; she ___ me of her.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. reminds The similarity makes the memory appear, so reminds of is correct.
I must ___ to water the plants.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. remember The duty is the speaker's own future task, so remember is correct.
He ___ me that the shop closes at six.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. reminded The pattern remind someone that introduces information for another person.
You ___ me of my brother.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. remind The similarity uses remind of, so the base verb remind is correct.
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between remember to and remember -ing?
Remember to do describes a future duty: "Remember to lock the door" means lock it later. Remember doing describes a past memory: "I remember locking the door" means I have a memory of doing it. The same pattern works with forget and stop.
What does remind me of mean?
It means someone or something makes you think of a person, place or time, usually because of a similarity: "This smell reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen." The meaning is memory and resemblance, not a practical reminder.
Can a thing remind me?
Yes. The subject of remind can be a person or a thing: "The alarm reminds me to take my pills." The important part is the person object straight after the verb.
More confusing words
Who vs whom
Who does the action, like he. Whom receives the action, like him, and often follows a preposition.
Principal vs principle
Principal means main, or the head of a school, or the capital sum of a loan. Principle is always a noun: a rule or a belief.
Make vs do
Make creates a result you can point at. Do performs a job or activity, often a routine one. The fixed phrases decide the rest.
Browse all the confusing word pairs or take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.