meaning - What is the difference between remember and remind



Could someone explain the difference between these two words? Here is an example of using each.



  • Your hair and eyes remind me of your mother.

  • I can remember people's faces, but not their names.



Answer



Briefly, remind is a causative verb, while remember is reflexive.


The full meaning of remind is something like "to cause someone to bring to mind". I.e.:



Your eyes remind me of your mother = Your eyes cause me to bring your mother to mind.



As demonstrated in the examples above, remind is ditransitive, meaning that it has two objects: the first is the person who is caused to remember, the second is the thing which is remembered.


Remember, on the other hand, is reflexive, meaning that the subject acts on himself to bring the object to mind:



I remember your mother = I recall your mother under my own power.



As this illustrates, remember is a simple transitive verb that has only one object: the thing that the subject brings into memory.


Both verbs mean the same or nearly the same thing, but they differ in the way that the subject relates to the object.


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