The idiom "ring a bell" means to sound familiar or to trigger a memory. It is often used when someone mentions something that you have heard before but can't quite remember the details.
For example, if someone says, "Do you know John Smith?" and you can't remember who that is, but then they say, "He's the guy who works at the coffee shop," it might "ring a bell" and you suddenly remember who John Smith is.
You can also use this idiom to ask someone if they remember something. For instance, if you say, "Does the name Jane Doe ring a bell?" you are asking if the person recognizes or remembers the name.
Overall, "ring a bell" is a useful idiom to express that something sounds familiar or triggers a memory.
• I saw the picture, but it doesn't ring a bell. I don't recognize the person in it.
• The old building at the corner of the street rings a bell. I remember my grandparents talking about it. (simple present tense)
• The professor's name rings a bell, but I can't remember which class I had with him.
• The story he told me rings a bell from something I read in a book once. (simple present tense)
• The song playing on the radio really rings a bell, it reminds me of my childhood.
• The name of the author sounds familiar, but it doesn't quite ring a bell. (present perfect tense)
• The name of the restaurant didn't ring a bell, so I couldn't remember if I had been there before.
• This name doesn't ring a bell to me. (simple present tense)
• The melody of the song is so catchy that it rings a bell in my head all day long. (present perfect tense)
• When I heard the news report, it rang a bell and I remembered reading about the topic in a newspaper article.
• I think I have seen this movie before, but the title doesn't ring a bell. (present perfect tense)
• The name of the obscure author rang a bell, and I realized I had a rare copy of one of his books in my collection.