“I bet you don't remember me, do you?”

You are visiting a couple who you haven't seen in a few years. They have a son who was 3 years old the last time you saw him, but now he's 6. You remember him well from 3 years ago, but you don't think he remembers you. This is what you say to him.

I bet you don't remember me, do you?

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I bet (clause)

Saying "I bet..." is a casual way of guessing about something. You can use this in all kinds of situations where you are guessing about something and want to compare what you think with what other people think:

I bet there'll be a lot of traffic at the beach this weekend.

I bet you can't guess what just happened to me.

I bet the meeting this afternoon will be pretty short since David's not here.

don't remember (something)

Notice that you use "remember" in the present tense: "I remember you" / "I don't remember you"

don't (do something), do you?

When you make a guess and you want to get the listener's feedback, you add "do you", "are you", "won't you", etc. to the end of your question. Which one you choose depends on the verb that was used on the sentence:

You're from Tokyo, aren't you?

You went out to lunch, didn't you?

You won't leave me here, will you?

The rules for choosing the correction are:

  1. If the verb is positive, the question is negative. If the verb is negative, the question is positive.
    You forgot, didn't you?
    You didn't forget, did you?
  2. For most verbs, use "did" or "didn't"
    She made dinner last night, didn't she?
    Mark drove, didn't he?
  3. In sentences that use "is", "are", "was", "were", "will", "have", "has", and other forms of "be" or "have", you match the question to the word:
    You've been there, haven't you?
    He's Asian, isn't he?

One other point - these questions can be pronounced as a question (when you're not sure about the sentence) or a statement (when you're more sure). For a question, your voice rises at the end:

She made dinner last night, didn't she?

For a statement, your voice rises on the second-to-last word and then falls on the last word:

You ate all the strawberries, didn't you?

The example at the top should be pronounced as a statement:

I bet you don't remember me, do you?