olvidar — Spanish conjugation

to forget

Frequency#99RegularReflexiveolvidarse — to forget (olvidarse de)

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoolvidoI forget
olvidasyou forget
vosolvidásyou forget
él/ella/Ud.olvidahe/she/it forgets
nosotrosolvidamoswe forget
vosotrosolvidáisyou (pl.) forget
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidanthey forget

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoolvidéI forgot
olvidasteyou forgot
vosolvidasteyou forgot
él/ella/Ud.olvidóhe/she/it forgot
nosotrosolvidamoswe forgot
vosotrosolvidasteisyou (pl.) forgot
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidaronthey forgot

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yoolvidaba
olvidabas
vosolvidabas
él/ella/Ud.olvidaba
nosotrosolvidábamos
vosotrosolvidabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoolvidaríaI would forget
olvidaríasyou would forget
vosolvidaríasyou would forget
él/ella/Ud.olvidaríahe/she/it would forget
nosotrosolvidaríamoswe would forget
vosotrosolvidaríaisyou (pl.) would forget
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidaríanthey would forget

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoolvidaréI will forget
olvidarásyou will forget
vosolvidarásyou will forget
él/ella/Ud.olvidaráhe/she/it will forget
nosotrosolvidaremoswe will forget
vosotrosolvidaréisyou (pl.) will forget
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidaránthey will forget

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe olvidadoI have forgotten
has olvidadoyou have forgotten
voshas olvidadoyou have forgotten
él/ella/Ud.ha olvidadohe/she/it has forgotten
nosotroshemos olvidadowe have forgotten
vosotroshabéis olvidadoyou (pl.) have forgotten
ellos/ellas/Uds.han olvidadothey have forgotten

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía olvidadoI had forgotten
habías olvidadoyou had forgotten
voshabías olvidadoyou had forgotten
él/ella/Ud.había olvidadohe/she/it had forgotten
nosotroshabíamos olvidadowe had forgotten
vosotroshabíais olvidadoyou (pl.) had forgotten
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían olvidadothey had forgotten

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría olvidado
habrías olvidado
voshabrías olvidado
él/ella/Ud.habría olvidado
nosotroshabríamos olvidado
vosotroshabríais olvidado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían olvidado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré olvidadoI will have forgotten
habrás olvidadoyou will have forgotten
voshabrás olvidadoyou will have forgotten
él/ella/Ud.habrá olvidadohe/she/it will have forgotten
nosotroshabremos olvidadowe will have forgotten
vosotroshabréis olvidadoyou (pl.) will have forgotten
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán olvidadothey will have forgotten

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yoolvide
olvides
vosolvides
él/ella/Ud.olvide
nosotrosolvidemos
vosotrosolvidéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.olviden

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoolvidara
olvidaras
vosolvidaras
él/ella/Ud.olvidara
nosotrosolvidáramos
vosotrosolvidarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoolvidase
olvidases
vosolvidases
él/ella/Ud.olvidase
nosotrosolvidásemos
vosotrosolvidaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.olvidasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya olvidado
hayas olvidado
voshayas olvidado
él/ella/Ud.haya olvidado
nosotroshayamos olvidado
vosotroshayáis olvidado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan olvidado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera olvidado
hubieras olvidado
voshubieras olvidado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera olvidado
nosotroshubiéramos olvidado
vosotroshubierais olvidado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran olvidado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
olvida
vosolvidá
él/ella/Ud.olvide
nosotrosolvidemos
vosotrosolvidad
ustedesolviden

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no olvides
vosno olvides
él/ella/Ud.no olvide
nosotrosno olvidemos
vosotrosno olvidéis
ustedesno olviden

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy olvidando
estás olvidando
vosestás olvidando
él/ella/Ud.está olvidando
nosotrosestamos olvidando
vosotrosestáis olvidando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están olvidando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve olvidando
estuviste olvidando
vosestuviste olvidando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo olvidando
nosotrosestuvimos olvidando
vosotrosestuvisteis olvidando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron olvidando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba olvidando
estabas olvidando
vosestabas olvidando
él/ella/Ud.estaba olvidando
nosotrosestábamos olvidando
vosotrosestabais olvidando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban olvidando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría olvidando
estarías olvidando
vosestarías olvidando
él/ella/Ud.estaría olvidando
nosotrosestaríamos olvidando
vosotrosestaríais olvidando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían olvidando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré olvidando
estarás olvidando
vosestarás olvidando
él/ella/Ud.estará olvidando
nosotrosestaremos olvidando
vosotrosestaréis olvidando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán olvidando