Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

Does sentence #1 below mean sentence #2?
1. I remembered this word when I was still a little boy.
2. I learned (or memorized) this word when I was still a little boy.

A famous college professor in Japan says in a private letter to me that #1 means #2, but I think #1 usually does not make sense. If it does, it means that "when I was still a little boy, I still had an idea of this word in my mind, which I had learned earlier."

What do you think?

[pinenut]

If you compare your brain to a computer memory, you can easily see the difference.

The first step is storing a fact into the memory as you learn a fact by heart or memorize it. The second is to retrieve or recall it from the memory as you remember the fact you have remorized before.

[fw]

Thank you, pinenut, for your prompt reply.

Let me make sure that I understand you correctly.

Do I understand the verb "remember" does NOT include the first step of memory that you mentioned. ie. "memorizing" or "learning-by-heart" stage? ,