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In French, there are two different structures to express "reminding", depending on whether we mean to be reminded of [something] or to prompt someone to remember [to do something].
How to express "to remind" in French
Rappeler [quelqu'un/quelque chose] à [quelqu'un] = To remind [someone] of [someone/something]
In English, the sentence goes as follows:
He reminds Maria of her ex.
First comes the person who is reminded, then the person she's reminded of.
BUT
in French, this order is reversed:
Il rappelle son ex à Maria.
First comes the person she is reminded of + à + person who is reminded.:
rappeler + person one's reminded of + à + person being reminded
ATTENTION:
Note that in French, there is no equivalent of the preposition "of" present in English:
She reminds me of Paula. -> Elle me rappelle de Paula.
Noël rappelle toujours de bons souvenirs à ma mère.Christmas always reminds my mother of good memories.
-> Here de is not a preposition, but the plural article des contracted in de because of the following adjective (See "Des" becomes " de/d' " in front of adjectives preceding nouns (French Partitive Articles))With object pronouns (He reminds me, you, him...):
You will use indirect object pronouns before rappeler :
me/te/lui/nous/vous/leur + rappeler + person one is reminded of
Rappeler à [quelqu'un] de [faire quelque chose] = To remind [someone] to [do something]
In this case, the order is similar to English :
rappeler + à + person being reminded + de + [infinitif]
With object pronouns (He reminds me, you, him...):
You will also use indirect object pronouns before rappeler :
me/te/lui/nous/vous/leur + rappeler + de + [infinitif]
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Examples and resources
to remind
You remind him of his best friend.
