his / her name rings a bell with me

Question

Hi everybody

I have seen this sentence on the phrasebook and I would consider it incorrect. I wonder if I am wrong. I have never seen this used with "with me" at the end.

I would have said:

His name rings a bell.

Su nombre me suena.

I have found 5 google hits, if this can be said, it must be really unusual.

Answer 1

I've certainly heard both. As a flat statement, "It (doesn't) ring a bell." is, I think, a good bit more common. However, in the contrastive case, the addition of "for me" (stressed in speech) is, if anything, to be preferred. This is similar (in spirit) to what one might say in Spanish:

a) Hay un recado de un tal Sr. Moreno pero el nombre no me suena na'. b) Pues a mí, sí, me suena. Es el tipo que conocimos la semana pasada en El Doble..

• chico, como no te aceptan nunca.....jeje - Heidita Mar 25, 2010

Answer 2

I think the initial phrase of of "rings a bell" or "ring a bell" should be the part translated. I have heard any number of combinations including:

Does that ring a bell for you?

That name rings a bell.

That names rings a bell for me.

and even

Does that ring any bells? or Does that ring any bells for you?

Answer 3

I have heard it used both ways. These both sound okay to me.

His name rings a bell

His name rings a bell with me

Answer 4

I have just found this in mi dictionary:

a (resultar conocido) (+ me/te/le etc) me suena tu cara I know your face from somewhere, your face is o looks familiar; ¿de qué me suena ese nombre/esa canción? where do I know that name from/that song from?; me suena haberlo oído antes it rings a bell o it sounds familiar; ¿te suena este refrán? does this proverb ring a bell (with you) o sound familiar to you?, have you heard this proverb before?, do you know this proverb?

Answer 5

I definitely use "rings a bell with me" more often than I use "rings a bell". Not really sure why. I love these questions that get me thinking about how/why we say things.

Answer 6

I'm sure I've heard that before. "name rings a bell with me" gets 421 hits on yahoo, and "rings a bell with me" gets over 21,000. Unusual, but not too unusual I think.

Answer 7

It is common usage everyone I know will say ,"his/her name rings a bell with me."

The same as "his/ her name is on the tip of my tongue, or their name will come

to me. their name aludes me . I know the face but cant bring the name "to mind"

Answer 8

Hmmm, interesting, the "with me" still sounds weird to me, but anyway, if you all say so....

Answer 9

I have never used the "with me" at the end, if I say it, I just say "That rings a bell...". In fact, I've actually never heard someone say "His/her name rings a bell with me" before.

Answer 10

I gotta agree with hlsbookworm. I'm aware of the additional "...with me", but I don't think I've ever heard anyone use it. I always say, "That rings a bell". It would be very uncommon to hear someone use the phrase with "with me". Honestly, if I ever heard someone using it, I would probably tell them they don't need to say "with me".