Inklingo

How to Say "was forgetting" in Spanish

The Spanish word forwas forgettingis olvidabaA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2
verbA2
an ongoing action in the past
A child walking away from a park bench, leaving a teddy bear behind.

Examples

De niño, siempre olvidaba mi mochila en la escuela.

As a child, I always used to forget my backpack at school.

¡Ah, se me olvidaba! Traje el libro que me pediste.

Oh, I almost forgot! I brought the book you asked for.

Él olvidaba las llaves cada vez que salía de prisa.

He was forgetting his keys every time he left in a hurry.

The 'Used To' Past

This word is the 'imperfect' form of the verb. Use it when talking about things you forgot repeatedly in the past or when you want to set the scene for a story.

One Word, Two People

In Spanish, the 'I' form and the 'he/she/it' form are identical for this tense. You'll need context or a pronoun (yo/él/ella) to know who is doing the forgetting.

Olvidaba vs. Olvidé

Mistake:Using 'olvidé' for a habit.

Correction: Use 'olvidaba' for habits ('I always forgot') and 'olvidé' for a single event ('I forgot once yesterday').

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