Olvidarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

olvidarse means to forget, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Me olvido todos los días» — I forget every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use olvidarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Olvidarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where olvidarse lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Me olvido todos los días. — I forget every day.
  2. Te olvidas en el trabajo. — You forget at work.
  3. Se olvida con mi familia. — He forgets with my family.
  4. Nos olvidamos por la mañana. — We forget in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer me olvidé por la tarde. — Yesterday I forgot in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me olvidaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to forget every day.
  3. La semana pasada se olvidó dos veces. — Last week He forgot twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana me olvidaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will forget without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me olvidaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would forget right now.
  3. Hoy me he olvidado dos veces. — Today I have forgot twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que te olvides pronto. — I hope You forget soon.
  2. ¡No te olvides! — Don't forget!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy olvidando. — Right now I am forgetting.

Olvidarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me olvido en el trabajo.» — I forget at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me olvido con mi familia.» — I forget with my family. Ana: «Mañana me olvidaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will forget without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me olvidaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would forget right now. Ana: «Hoy me he olvidado dos veces.» — Today I have forgot twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me olvidé por la tarde. Antes, me olvidaba todos los días. Hoy me he olvidado dos veces. Mañana me olvidaré sin falta.

Yesterday I forgot in the afternoon. In the past, I used to forget every day. Today I have forgot twice. Tomorrow I will forget without fail.

Common mistakes with olvidarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo olvido todos los días.

Right: me olvido todos los días.

olvidarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me olvidaba.

Right: Ayer me olvidé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, olvidé. The imperfect olvidaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te olvidas.

Right: Espero que te olvides.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: olvides, not the indicative olvidas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te olvida.

Right: No te olvides.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no olvides. The affirmative olvida can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He olvidando.

Right: He olvidado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he olvidado. The gerund olvidando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy olvidando»), never with haber.

Quiz: olvidarse in use

Test yourself on olvidarse in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of olvidarse in the present indicative?

- (a) olvidan
- (b) olvida
- (c) olvidas
- (d) olvido

2. What is the yo form of olvidarse in the preterite?

- (a) olvidé
- (b) olvidamos
- (c) olvidó
- (d) olvidaste

3. What is the tú form of olvidarse in the future?

- (a) olvidará
- (b) olvidaremos
- (c) olvidarás
- (d) olvidaré

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of olvidarse in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos olvidado
- (b) he olvidado
- (c) has olvidado
- (d) ha olvidado

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of olvidarse in the imperfect?

- (a) olvidaban
- (b) olvidaba
- (c) olvidaba
- (d) olvidabas

6. What is the gerund of olvidarse?

- (a) olvidarse
- (b) olvidando
- (c) olvidado
- (d) olvido

7. What is the past participle of olvidarse?

- (a) olvidé
- (b) olvidando
- (c) olvidado
- (d) olvidarse

8. Which sentence uses olvidarse correctly?

- (a) *Yo olvidas todos los días.*
- (b) *Me olvido todos los días.* — I forget every day.
- (c) *Yo olvida todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo olvidarse todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses olvidarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer me olvidé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I forgot in the afternoon.
- (b) *Ayer yo olvido por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo olvidaba por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo olvidarse por la tarde.*

10. What does olvidarse mean?

- (a) to forget
- (b) to take care of
- (c) to offer oneself
- (d) to oppose

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of olvidarse is olvidan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of olvidarse is olvidé. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the future, the tú form of olvidarse is olvidarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of olvidarse is ha olvidado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of olvidarse is olvidaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — The gerund of olvidarse is olvidando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy olvidando». 7. (c) — The past participle of olvidarse is olvidado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he olvidado». 8. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of olvidarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of olvidarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (a) — olvidarse means «to forget».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I forget' in Spanish?

Say «Me olvido todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I forgot' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer me olvidé por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is olvidarse reflexive?

Yes — olvidarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me olvido, te olvidas, se olvida. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with olvidarse?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (olvidé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (olvidaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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