" It never dawned on me that .. " vs " I realized that.. " Any difference ..?
Hi, I'm a bit confused about above two expressions !

It seems to me quite similar and actually I've always used the latter one. Well, I feel like the former one comes strong to me regarding the level of expressiveness

For example, on my way to the bank, I realized that I forgot to carry around my wallet. Or also I can say , it dawned on me that I had forgotten to carry my wallet.

Is there any difference between them ?

Thanks in advance :)

Question

" It never dawned on me that .. " vs " I realized that.. " Any difference ..?
Hi, I'm a bit confused about above two expressions !

It seems to me quite similar and actually I've always used the latter one. Well, I feel like the former one comes strong to me regarding the level of expressiveness

For example, on my way to the bank, I realized that I forgot to carry around my wallet. Or also I can say , it dawned on me that I had forgotten to carry my wallet.

Is there any difference between them ?

Thanks in advance :)

Answer

They are quite similar. Realizing means you suddenly think of something, saying "it never dawned on me before" sounds like something you had known for a long time but did not realize until now. They could mean the same in certain contexts, but they don't necessarily.

For example, you wouldn't say "it never dawned on me that I had forgotten my wallet" unless you were telling a story in which that was an important detail. You might say "I suddenly realized that I forgot my wallet".

Answer

Hi Youra,

You are right that they basically mean the same thing. And you are right to use "I realized that..." most often.

"It dawned on me..." is more expressive, as you said, and would be used for a more unusual situation or to dramatize telling a story, or if someone quite suddenly figured out something that they had been thinking about for awhile. I hope this helps a bit.

Answer

“It never dawned on me that...” is used more for narrating an event, which would be common when telling a story. “I never realized that...”, or “I realized that...” is much more common in everyday speech and conversation. You can also use “it never dawned on me that...” to express something that you have never thought of before, while “I realized that” is more for something you may have forgotten. Hope this helps!

Answers · 5

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