Olvidar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

olvidar means "to forget" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Olvidar means "to forget", and it covers everything from small daily lapses — keys, names, passwords — to forgetting appointments and promises. It is the everyday verb for a memory that slips away, and it is also used for deliberately putting something behind you, as in olvidar el pasado, to forget the past. Learners meet it constantly because forgetting is one of the most talked-about daily experiences, and because olvidar appears in apologies, excuses and reminders in almost every conversation. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by meaning, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of olvidar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the olvidar present tense page.

olvidar in everyday use: examples with translations

Forgetting things at home

  1. Yo siempre olvido las llaves en casa. — "I always forget the keys at home."
  2. Tú olvidas el móvil en el sofá. — "You forget your phone on the sofa."
  3. Ayer yo olvidé la cartera en el taxi. — "Yesterday I forgot my wallet in the taxi."
  4. De niño, yo olvidaba los deberes todos los días. — "As a child, I forgot my homework every day."

Forgetting people, dates and words

  1. Mi jefe olvida el cumpleaños de sus empleados. — "My boss forgets his employees' birthdays."
  2. Nosotros olvidamos los nombres con mucha facilidad. — "We forget names very easily."
  3. Si no apuntas la cita, tú la olvidarás. — "If you don't write the appointment down, you will forget it."
  4. Yo he olvidado la contraseña tres veces esta semana. — "I have forgotten the password three times this week."

Forgetting on purpose

  1. Ella olvida el pasado y empieza una vida nueva. — "She forgets the past and starts a new life."
  2. Ellos olvidan los problemas durante las vacaciones. — "They forget their problems during the holidays."
  3. Yo olvidaría todo si pudiera empezar de cero. — "I would forget everything if I could start from scratch."
  4. Vosotros olvidáis las discusiones muy rápido. — "You forget arguments very quickly."

olvidar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use olvidar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

At the office door, Ana realises something is wrong.

  • Ana: ¡Ay! Yo olvido las llaves otra vez. — "Oh no! I forget the keys again."
  • Luis: Tú siempre olvidas las llaves, Ana. — "You always forget the keys, Ana."
  • Ana: Sí, yo olvido todo cuando tengo prisa. — "Yes, I forget everything when I'm in a hurry."
  • Luis: Mi hermano olvida las llaves también, no te preocupes. — "My brother forgets the keys too, don't worry."

Two friends talk about a birthday they missed.

  • Marta: Ayer yo olvidé el cumpleaños de Carlos. — "Yesterday I forgot Carlos's birthday."
  • Pedro: Tú olvidas los cumpleaños todos los años. — "You forget birthdays every year."
  • Marta: Yo olvido las fechas, pero no las caras. — "I forget dates, but not faces."
  • Pedro: El año que viene nosotros no olvidaremos su cumpleaños. — "Next year we will not forget his birthday."

Common mistakes with olvidar

The errors learners actually make with olvidar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo olvidas las llaves.

✓ Correct: Yo olvido las llaves.

Olvidas is the tú form. With yo you need olvido — the -o ending belongs to yo in -ar verbs.

✗ *Yo olvido de las llaves.

✓ Correct: Yo olvido las llaves.

Olvidar takes a direct object, not de. You forget something directly: olvidar las llaves, not olvidar de las llaves.

✗ *Vosotros olvidáis las llaves (written without the accent: olvidais).

✓ Correct: Vosotros olvidáis las llaves.

The vosotros form olvidáis carries a written accent on the í. Without it the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is similar.

✗ *Ellos olvidan de llamarme.

✓ Correct: Ellos olvidan llamarme.

When olvidar is followed by an infinitive, no preposition comes between them: olvidar llamar, not olvidar de llamar.

Quiz: olvidar in use

Ten questions on olvidar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Yo siempre ______ las llaves en casa. — "I always forget the keys at home."

  • a) olvidé
  • b) olvidas
  • c) olvida
  • d) olvido

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer yo ______ la cartera en el taxi. — "Yesterday I forgot my wallet in the taxi."

  • a) olvidó
  • b) olvido
  • c) olvidaste
  • d) olvidé

3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ los nombres con mucha facilidad. — "We forget names very easily."

  • a) olvidamos
  • b) olvido
  • c) olvidas
  • d) olvidamos

4. Complete the sentence: Ella ______ el pasado y empieza una vida nueva. — "She forgets the past and starts a new life."

  • a) olvidó
  • b) olvidas
  • c) olvido
  • d) olvida

5. Which is the correct present tense form of olvidar for yo?

  • a) olvido
  • b) olvidas
  • c) olvidamos
  • d) olvida

6. Which is the correct present tense form of olvidar for tú?

  • a) olvido
  • b) olvidas
  • c) olvida
  • d) olvidamos

7. Which is the correct present tense form of olvidar for ellos/ellas/Uds.?

  • a) olvida
  • b) olvidan
  • c) olvido
  • d) olvidas

8. Which sentence uses olvidar correctly?

  • a) Nosotros olvidábamos las instrucciones del profesor.
  • b) Nosotros olvidamos las instrucciones del profesor.
  • c) Nosotros olvida las instrucciones del profesor.

9. What is the past participle of olvidar?

  • a) olvido
  • b) olvidado
  • c) olvidó
  • d) olvidando

10. What does olvidar mean in English?

  • a) to forget
  • b) to have
  • c) to remember
  • d) to go

Answer key

  1. d) olvido — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: olvido.

  2. d) olvidé — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: olvidé.

  3. a) olvidamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form in the present: olvidamos.

  4. d) olvida — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: olvida.

  5. a) olvido — The present tense form for yo is olvido.

  6. b) olvidas — The present tense form for tú is olvidas.

  7. b) olvidan — The present tense form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is olvidan.

  8. b) Nosotros olvidamos las instrucciones del profesor. — Nosotros olvidamos las instrucciones del profesor. is correct. The other sentences use the wrong person, the wrong tense, or the wrong pattern for this verb.

  9. b) olvidado — The past participle is olvidado. You need it for every perfect tense with haber: he olvidado, has olvidado, ha olvidado.

  10. a) to forget — olvidar means "to forget".

Frequently asked questions

How do I use olvidar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as olvidar las llaves and olvidar una cita. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between olvidar and recordar?

olvidar means "to forget", while recordar means "to remember". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use olvidar when you mean "to forget" and recordar when you mean "to remember".

Which tense do I need most with olvidar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use olvidar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is olvidar formal or informal?

olvidar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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