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Acordarse vs Recordar

The Differences Between Acordarse and Recordar


While acordarse and recordar are interchangeable in meaning, they
have a few important differences to note:

Acordarse is a pronominal verb that uses a reflexive pronoun


Acordarse always precedes the preposition de
Recordar can mean “to remember” and “to remind.”
Yo me acuerdo.
I remember. 2. Acordarse is always followed by de.
¡No me acuerdo! Yo me acuerdo de ti.
I can’t remember! I remember you.
Subject pronoun: yo Nosotros nos acordamos de llamarte.
We remember to call you
Reflexive pronoun: me

Nosotros nos acordamos.


We remember.

¡No nos acordamos!


We can’t remember!
3. Recordar a means “to remind.”
When the preposition a follows the verb recordar, it means “to remind.” The preposition is essential and you’ll see it
move around a sentence, depending on the required structure.

A question, for example, requires that the preposition is placed at the beginning:

¿A qué te recuerda el olor a papas fritas?


What does the smell of french fries remind you of?

A statement requires the preposition a to follow the verb:

Su tono de voz me recuerda a un amigo.


His tone of voice reminds me of a friend.

To remind someone to do something, the verb in the subordinating clause is subjunctive (recordar a alguien que haga
algo):

Le recuerdo a mi hermano que saque la basura.


I remind my brother to take out the trash.
4. Different common nouns derive from each verb.
The noun el recuerdo comes from recordar, meanwhile the noun el acuerdo comes
from acordar, but they have very different meanings!

el recuerdo – memory
el acuerdo – agreement
For example:

Esa canción me trae muchos recuerdos.


That song brings back so many memories.

Finalmente llegamos a un acuerdo con el vendedor.


We finally reached an agreement with the seller.
Ejemplos
¿Te acuerdas del río donde jugábamos?
Do you remember the river which we used to play in?

Nos acordamos perfectamente de lo que tenemos que hacer.


We remember, perfectly, what we have to do.

¿Se acuerdan de cómo se veían los tipos que los asaltaron?


Do you remember what the guys who mugged you looked like?
Errores comunes

Me recuerdo de ti.
I remember you!

No me recuerdo.
I don’t remember.

¿Te recuerdas de la lección de español?


Do you remember the Spanish lesson?

Acuerdo el olor de las flores.


I remember the smell of the flowers.

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