Meaning & use
remember
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To have something in your mind that you learned or experienced earlier, or to bring it back to mind.
Grammar: Takes an object or a clause: remember her name; I remember that she called.
Patterns
- remember something
- remember doing something
- remember that something
I remember my first day at school.
Do you remember where we parked the car?
She remembers meeting him at the station.
verbtransitive
To keep in mind that you must do something, so that you do not forget it.
Grammar: Followed by to and a verb for future tasks: remember to lock the door.
Patterns
- remember to do something
Remember to switch off the lights.
Did you remember to bring your passport?
verbtransitive
To honor or think respectfully about someone or something from the past.
Grammar: Takes an object: remember the soldiers.
Patterns
- remember someone
- remember someone as something
The town gathers each year to remember those lost at sea.
She will be remembered as a kind teacher.
Word forms
| third person singular | remembers |
|---|---|
| past tense | remembered |
| past participle | remembered |
| -ing form | remembering |
Common combinations
- remember clearly
- I remember clearly what she said.
- vaguely remember
- I vaguely remember the song from childhood.
- remember to call
- Remember to call your mother tonight.
- remembered as
- He is remembered as a brave leader.
- if I remember rightly
- If I remember rightly, the shop closes at six.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recall
- Is more formal and suggests deliberately bringing a particular memory back.
- recollect
- Is formal and suggests effort in gathering a half-lost memory.
- commemorate
- Means to honor an event publicly, for example with a ceremony.
Opposites
Word family
- remembrance noun
- the act of honoring someone's memory
- reminder noun
- something that helps you remember
- remind verb
- to make someone remember
Commonly confused: remember or remind?
remember vs remind
You remember something yourself, but someone else reminds you of it: remind me to call.
Practice
Which sentence means you have a memory of locking the door in the past?
Choose one answer.
Remember plus -ing refers to a past action you recall. Remember to plus verb means you do not forget a task still to be done.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “remember”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.