lembrar / acordarse de

Remembering: Lembrar and Acordarse

Level 3

Galician has two patterns for remembering: lembrar algo with a direct object, or lembrarse de and acordarse de with a pronoun and de: Lembro aquel verán, Acórdaste de min?

How It Works

Pattern 1: lembrar + direct object

  • Lembro aquel verán. (I remember that summer.)
  • Non lembra nada da súa infancia. (He remembers nothing of his childhood.)
  • Cando saín, lembrei que tiña unha cita. (When I went out, I remembered that I had an appointment.)

Pattern 2: lembrarse de, acordarse de

  • Lémbraste de min? or Acórdaste de min? (Do you remember me?)
  • Non me acordo do seu nome. (I do not remember her name.)
  • Non me lembrei de darlle o recado. (I forgot to give him the message.)

The pronoun follows the usual placement rules. It goes after the verb in a plain statement or a yes/no question (Acórdome, Acórdaste?; see pronouns after the verb), and before it after non, xa or a question word (Non me acordo, Xa non te lembras de min, De que te acordas?; see pronouns after negatives).

Other meanings to know

  • lembrar + person + thing means to remind: Esta canción lémbrame o verán pasado (This song reminds me of last summer), Lémbralle a reunión (Remind her about the meeting).
  • acordar without a pronoun most often means to wake up or to agree on: Acordei ás sete (I woke up at seven), Acordamos vernos o luns (We agreed to meet on Monday). The dictionary also records acordar meaning remember, but acordarse de is the everyday choice.
  • recordar is also standard Galician and can be used like lembrar.

Examples (6)

  1. Lembro aquel verán en Cangas.

    I remember that summer in Cangas.

    Lembrar without a pronoun takes a direct object, with no preposition.

  2. Acórdaste de min? Estudamos xuntos.

    Do you remember me? We studied together.

    In a yes/no question the pronoun goes after the verb: acórdaste.

  3. Non me acordo do seu nome.

    I do not remember her name.

    De + o contracts to do. After non the pronoun goes before the verb.

  4. Xa non te lembras de min?

    Do you not remember me any more?

    Lembrarse works like acordarse: pronoun plus de.

  5. Esta canción lémbrame o verán pasado.

    This song reminds me of last summer.

    Lembrar with a person and a thing means to remind.

  6. Onte acordei ás seis.

    Yesterday I woke up at six.

    Without a pronoun, acordar here means to wake up.

Common Mistakes

  • Using acordarse without de.

    Non me acordo o seu nome.
    Non me acordo do seu nome.

    With the pronoun, acordarse and lembrarse always need de before what you remember.

  • Mixing the two patterns: a pronoun but no de.

    Lémbrome aquel verán.
    Lembro aquel verán.

    Either drop the pronoun and use a direct object (Lembro aquel verán) or keep the pronoun and add de (Lémbrome daquel verán).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

lembrar / acordarse deLevel 3Remembering: Lembrar and Acordarse

Learn This First

Lembrar and acordarse require different combinations of a pronoun and de.

Words in This Pattern

lembraracordar