Bear in Mind | Meaning & Example Sentences
Bear in mind is a phrasal verb meaning ‘remember’ or ‘consider’. It’s most commonly used in the imperative mood (i.e., as a command or instruction), to remind or warn someone of something.
It’s usually followed by the conjunction ‘that’ and then a phrase describing the thing that should be remembered. It may instead take a direct object, in which case the object normally appears after the word ‘bear’, and there’s no ‘that’ phrase afterward.
If you bear in mind that a bad grade isn’t the end of the world, you’ll feel less anxious about the exam.
We aim to bear this principle in mind at all times.
Bear in mind or bare in mind
The correct spelling of the expression is bear in mind, which includes the verb ‘bear’ (meaning ‘endure’ or ‘carry’). The idea is that you’re holding something in your mind. ‘Bare in mind’ is a mistake, since the verb ‘bare’ (meaning ‘uncover’) doesn’t make sense here.
- Bare in mind that this paper accounts for 40% of your grade.
- Bear in mind that this paper accounts for 40% of your grade.
Different tenses of bear in mind
The phrase can be used in other tenses by conjugating the verb ‘bear’ differently. The simple past tense is bore (not ‘beared’), the present participle is bearing, and the past participle is borne (not ‘born’).
Bearing this idea in mind, let’s proceed to the next object of our analysis.
Safety should be borne in mind at all times during the expedition.
Please bear in mind
The phrase please bear in mind is a more polite way of telling someone to bear something in mind.
Apart from being more polite due to the addition of the adverb ‘please’, it has the same meaning. You might use it to soften a reminder that could otherwise sound presumptuous.
Bear that in mind
The phrase bear that in mind is used to refer to something that’s just been mentioned, represented by the demonstrative pronoun ‘that’.
In this phrase, ‘that’ acts as the object of the phrasal verb bear in mind. As such, the ‘that’ phrase that usually comes after the verb shouldn’t be included – it would be incorrect to say ‘bear that in mind that …’ The same applies to other variants like ‘bear it in mind’.
Person B: I’ll bear that in mind. Thanks!
You’re meant to be at the station forty minutes before departure. Bear that in mind when you’re planning the trip.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a synonym of ‘bear in mind’?
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Some synonyms for bear in mind are:
- Be aware
- Consider
- Don’t forget
- Don’t lose sight of (the fact)
- Keep in mind
- Recall
- Remember
- Take into account
- What does ‘bare in mind’ mean?
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‘Bare in mind’ is a misspelling of the phrasal verb bear in mind, which means ‘remember’ or ‘consider’. The verb ‘bear’ means ‘carry’; the idea is that you’re holding something in your mind. The verb ‘bare’ means ‘uncover’, which doesn’t make sense in this context.
People also confuse ‘bear’ and ‘bare’ in other contexts, such as in the phrase ‘bear with me’.
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Caulfield, J. (2023, March 01). Bear in Mind | Meaning & Example Sentences. Scribbr. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/definition/bear-in-mind-meaning/
