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Basic Spanish: Help & Review33 chapters | 501 lessons
Elena teaches Spanish as a foreign language and has a PhD in linguistics.
Do you normally remember your weekly duties and errands or do you have to write everything down? Do you have to remind other people to do things or is it normally the other way round? In order to talk about these topics in Spanish, you will need the verb recordar.
Recordar means 'to remember', so we can use it when we talk about ideas, pictures, or facts that we bring into our mind. However, it can also mean 'to remind' in contexts in which we make people remember something they must do.
We use the preterite to talk about finished actions in the past. Conjugating recordar in the preterite is easy! We only need to take the verb stem record- and add the preterite endings.
VERB: recordar (reh-kohr-DAHR) - to remember/remind |
---|
Subject Pronouns | Recordar Conjugation: Preterite | Pronunciation | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
yo | recordé | reh-kohr-DEH | I remembered/reminded |
tú | recordaste | reh-kohr-DAHS-teh | you remembered/reminded |
él/ella/usted | recordó | reh-kohr-DOH | he/she/you formal remembered/reminded |
nosotros/as | recordamos | reh-kohr-DAH-mohs | we remembered/reminded |
vosotros/as | recordasteis | reh-kohr-DAHS-tays | you all remembered/reminded |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | recordaron | reh-kohr-DAH-rohn | they/you all formal remembered/reminded |
Now, let's see how to use this verb in context. Let's talk about Carmen, who is normally quite forgetful and needs to write down notes or make people remind her to do things. She has just arrived at the airport, where Ana is waiting for her.
Ana: ¿Recordaste traer tu pasaporte? ('Did you remember to bring your passport?')
Carmen: Sí, pero no recordé el cepillo de dientes ni la cámara de fotos. ('Yes, but I didn't remember my toothbrush or the camera'.)
Ana: ¿Y recordaste que teníamos que reservar los billetes de tren antes de llegar? ('And did you remember we had to book the train tickets before arriving?')
Notice that recordar allows different structures - it can be followed by a noun, an infinitive or a sentence introduced by que.
Let's see more examples:
RecordarEvening Round Purse Women Red Party Handbag Dress Clutch KERVINFENDRIYUN Red Ball Bag Color AOaHWayq + noun:
Recordar + infinitive:
Recordar + que + sentence:
In all the examples above, the meaning of recordar is 'to remember'. However, as we saw in the introduction, recordar also means 'to remind'. In this case, the structure is a bit different - we need an object pronoun IN FRONT of the verb that indicates to whom we remind to do something.
Subject + Object Pronoun (me/te/le/nos/os/les) + recordar + (a + name of person) + Noun/Infinitive/Sentence
Examples:
We use the imperative in order to give a direct order or command. The imperative forms of recordar keep the verb stem record- in the first and second person plural. However, in the rest of the forms, there is a change in the stem vowel, so we will use the irregular stem recuerd-.
VERB: recordar (reh-kohr-DAHR) - to remember/remind |
---|
Subject Pronouns | Recordar: Imperative | Pronunciation | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
Crocodile Rhinestones Clutch Party Skin Purse Embossed Cocktail Womens Handbags Owl Prom Silver Printed tú | recuerda | reh-KWEHR-dah | (you) remember/remind |
usted | recuerde | reh-KWEHR-deh | (you formal) remember/remind |
nosotros/as | recordemos | reh-kohr-DEH-mohs | (we) let's remember/remind |
vosotros/as | recordad | reh-kohr-DAHD | (you all) remember/remind |
ustedes | recuerden | reh-KWEHR-dehn | (you all) formal remember/remind |
The imperative forms of the verb recordar can be used as reminders in conversations, but they are also typically used in written signs and warnings. In formal contexts, these signs are normally addressed to a group of people by using the formal 'you' (ustedes). Again, this verb can be followed by a noun, an infinitive or a sentence introduced by que.
Recordar + noun:
Recordar + infinitive:
Recordar + que + sentence:
Now let's say you are quite forgetful and you want someone to remind you to do something. In this case, you will use the imperative form with the object pronoun attached to it.
Imperative of Recordar + Object Pronoun (me/le/nos/les) + Noun/Infinitive/Sentence
Examples:
In this lesson we have learned about the verb recordar, which means 'to remember' or 'to remind' depending on the context. This verb can be followed by a noun, an infinitive or a sentence introduced by que.
We have seen its conjugation in the preterite, which is used to talk about finished actions in the past.
VERB: recordar (reh-kohr-DAHR) - to remember/remind |
---|
Subject Pronouns |
Recordar Conjugation: Preterite |
---|---|
yo | recordé |
tú | recordaste |
él/ella/usted | recordó |
nosotros/as | recordamos |
vosotros/as | recordasteis |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | recordaron |
Recordar also means 'to remind'. In this case, the structure requires an object pronoun IN FRONT of the verb that indicates to whom we remind to do something.
Subject + Object Pronoun (me/te/le/nos/os/les) + recordar + (a + name of person) + Noun/Infinitive/Sentence
We have also studied its imperative forms, used to give reminders to others or tell other people to remind you to do something.
Subject Pronouns |
Recordar: Imperative |
---|---|
Printed Handbags Crocodile Clutch Cocktail Owl Purse Womens Rhinestones Silver Prom Embossed Skin Party tú | recuerda |
usted | recuerde |
nosotros/as | recordemos |
vosotros/as | recordad |
ustedes | recuerden |
Imperative of Recordar + Object Pronoun (me/le/nos/les) + Noun/Infinitive/Sentence
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