Common Mistakes With “Lembrar” and “Esquecer” in Portuguese

Introduction

Many learners confuse how to use lembrar and esquecer in Portuguese. Both verbs relate to memory but follow different patterns with objects, pronouns, and prepositions. This article explains the grammar, shows common mistakes, and gives clear examples in Brazilian Portuguese to help you speak and write correctly.

Basic meanings and opposites

Lembrar means to remember or to make someone remember. It focuses on bringing something back to memory. Esquecer means to forget or to fail to remember. Though opposites in meaning, they behave differently with pronouns, reflexive forms, and prepositions.

Simple examples

Eu lembro do aniversário.
Eu esqueço o nome.

But note the correct prepositions and verb forms that follow. These small details cause many errors for learners.

Using lembrar: transitive vs. pronominal

Lembrar can be used transitively (direct object), intransitively with the preposition de, or pronominally as lembrar-se. Each form changes whether you use direct objects or prepositional complements.

Lembrar with direct object (someone remembers something directly)

When you want to say someone remembers a fact or thing, you can use lembrar with a direct object in informal speech, but the standard construction is lembrar de plus a noun or infinitive.

Common acceptable: Eu lembro do endereço.
Less formal but heard: Eu lembro esse endereço. This second pattern can sound influenced by English and is safer to avoid in formal contexts.

Lembrar de + noun or infinitive (preferred in Brazilian Portuguese)

The most natural and grammatically safe pattern is lembrar de. Use it when someone remembers a thing, person, date, or to do something.

Examples:
Eu lembro do filme que vimos ontem.
Ela lembra de ligar para a mãe.

Lembrar-se (pronominal) plus de

European Portuguese often uses the clitic differently, but in Brazilian Portuguese you can use lembrar-se with the reflexive pronoun and still require de. The reflexive adds formality or emphasis that the memory act is internal.

Examples:
Eu me lembro do nome dele.
Nós nos lembramos das regras.

Using esquecer: transitive vs. intransitive

Esquecer behaves similarly but with important contrasts. You can say esquecer a thing directly in some contexts, but more commonly you will use esquecer de or the pronominal esquecer-se.

Esquecer de + noun or infinitive

The common and correct construction when someone fails to remember something or forgets to do something is esquecer de. This is the safest pattern for learners.

Examples:
Ele esqueceu do compromisso.
Eu esqueci de pagar a conta.

Esquecer without de

In Brazilian Portuguese, you might also hear esquecer with a direct object when the object is a person, especially in colloquial speech: Eu esqueci ela. However, the prescriptive and clearer form is esquecer-se de or esquecer + de + object.

Better: Eu esqueci dela.
Or: Eu me esqueci dela.

Pronouns and clitic placement: me, te, se, o, a, lhe

Pronouns change the sentence and often cause mistakes. Brazilian Portuguese typically uses proclisis (pronoun before verb) in negative statements or subordinate clauses, but neutral contexts allow enclisis or even mesoclisis in formal writing. For memory verbs, learners must watch the object pronouns and prepositions.

Using reflexive pronouns with lembrar-se and esquecer-se

When the subject is the one who remembers or forgets something about themselves, use reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, vos.

Examples:
Eu me lembro da música.
Ela se esqueceu do compromisso.

Clitic placement with infinitives and compound verbs

With infinitives and verbs in periphrastic constructions, pronouns commonly attach to the infinitive: preciso lembrar-me? is more formal; in Brazilian Portuguese you usually say preciso me lembrar de. For beginner-intermediate learners, the natural spoken form is more useful.

Examples:
Preciso me lembrar de comprar pão.
Vou me esquecer das chaves se não anotar.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Below are frequent learner errors with explanations and corrected versions. Learning these patterns prevents awkward or incorrect sentences.

Mistake 1: Confusing lembrar de and lembrar + infinitive without de

Incorrect: Eu lembro ligar para ele.
Why wrong: In Portuguese you need the preposition de before an infinitive with lembrar. The verb does not directly take another verb as a direct object like in English.

Correct: Eu lembro de ligar para ele. Or Eu me lembro de ligar para ele.

Mistake 2: Using esquecer without de for actions

Incorrect: Ela esqueceu pagar a conta.
Why wrong: As with lembrar, actions require the preposition de before an infinitive.

Correct: Ela esqueceu de pagar a conta. Or Ela se esqueceu de pagar a conta.

Mistake 3: Direct object pronoun placement with people

Incorrect: Eu esqueci ele ontem.
Why wrong: When referring to people, avoid using a bare direct object pronoun without preposition; it sounds unnatural. Better to use the preposition com or the reflexive construction.

Correct: Eu esqueci dele ontem. Or Eu me esqueci dele ontem. For forgetting someone entirely, you could also say: Esqueci esse amigo.

Mistake 4: Overusing lembrar without de when speaking about reminding someone

Incorrect: Eu lembro ele sobre a reunião.
Why wrong: To express reminding someone of something, use lembrar alguém de algo, not lembrar alguém sobre algo.

Correct: Eu lembro ele da reunião. Or Eu lembro ele de ir à reunião. Better: Eu lembro ele da reunião amanhã. Or Eu lembro ele de ir à reunião.

Mistake 5: Literal translation of forget to versus forget about

English separates forget to do and forget about something. In Portuguese, both often use esquecer de, but context and pronouns differ.

Forget to do something: Eu esqueci de ligar.
Forget about something/person: Eu esqueci do nome dela. Note the use of do (de + o) for masculine nouns or da for feminine.

Prepositions: de, do, da, em, sobre

The preposition after lembrar and esquecer is almost always de. Contracted forms do and da appear when the following noun is masculine or feminine definite: de + o = do, de + a = da.

Examples with contractions

Eu lembro do filme.
Ela esqueceu da bolsa.
Nós lembramos das férias.

When to use em or sobre

Do not use em or sobre after lembrar and esquecer to mean remember or forget. Em and sobre have other uses but not in these core constructions for memory. Using them will make the sentence sound wrong.

Wrong: Eu lembro em você.
Right: Eu lembro de você.

Using lembrar to mean remind (someone)

Lembrar can also mean to remind. The structure is lembrar alguém de algo. This is a common source of mistakes because word order and pronouns differ from English.

Correct patterns

Eu vou lembrar você do horário.
Ou, more naturally in Brazilian Portuguese: Eu vou te lembrar do horário.
Note: Te is the clitic form used before the verb in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

Common errors

Incorrect: Vou lembrar do horário você.
Correct: Vou lembrar você do horário. Or Vou te lembrar do horário.

Negation and emphasis

When negating, place the negative word before the verb. Pronouns still follow normal placement rules in Brazilian Portuguese colloquial speech.

Negation examples

Eu não me lembro dessa palavra.
Ele não esqueceu de avisar.

Cultural and usage notes

In Brazilian spoken Portuguese, contractions and clitic placement are more flexible. People often say Eu me lembro or Eu lembro mesmo, and clitics like te and me appear before the verb in casual speech: Vou te lembrar. Formal writing may prefer me lembrar, lembrar-me, or lembrar-se de. Listening to native speakers and reading contemporary Brazilian texts helps internalize typical patterns.

Also, Brazilians often shorten phrases in conversation: Esqueci! can stand alone to mean I forgot. Context fills in the missing complements.

Quick reference: Do this, not that

Remember the most useful rules:

Use lembrar de or lembrar-se de for remembering things or to do actions.
Correct: Eu lembro de estudar.
Avoid: Eu lembro estudar.

Use esquecer de or esquecer-se de for forgetting actions or facts.
Correct: Ela esqueceu de responder.
Avoid: Ela esqueceu responder.

To remind someone, use lembrar alguém de algo.
Correct: Vou lembrar ele do horário. Or Vou te lembrar do horário.

Use contractions do/da/dos/das after de when the noun has a definite article.
Correct: Eu lembro do filme. Eu esqueço da ocasião.

Conclusion

Mastering lembrar and esquecer requires attention to prepositions, pronouns, and whether the action is remembering, forgetting, or reminding. Favor lembrar de and esquecer de for most cases, use reflexive forms when appropriate, and place clitics naturally in spoken Brazilian Portuguese. With these rules and the examples above, you will avoid the most common mistakes and communicate memory-related ideas more accurately.