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.

Examples: Bear in mind in a sentence
Bear in mind that these figures are only estimates.

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.

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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.

Examples: Bear in mind or bare in mind
  • Bare in mind that this paper accounts for 40% of your grade.
  • Bear in mind that this paper accounts for 40% of your grade.

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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’).

Examples: Tenses of bear in mind
Josefa always bore in mind that her problems were minor in the grand scheme of things.

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.

Example: Please bear in mind in a sentence
Please bear our neighbours in mind and try to minimise noise after 9 p.m.

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’.

Examples: Bear that in mind in a sentence
Person A: You’re free to drop in whenever you need any help.
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.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a synonym of ‘bear in mind’?

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?

‘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 4 November 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/definition/bear-in-mind-meaning/

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Jack Caulfield

Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature. He writes for Scribbr about his specialist topics: grammar, linguistics, citations, and plagiarism. In his spare time, he reads a lot of books.