Both can translate to 'olvidar', but they point to very different things.
"Forget" means to fail to remember something. It left your mind. "I forgot my keys" = I did not think of my keys.
I forgot your birthday. I'm sorry.
She forgot the password to her account.
Don't forget to call your mother.
"Leave" means to have left something somewhere: the object is in a specific place. "I left my keys at home" = my keys are at home, I did not bring them.
I left my phone at the restaurant.
He left his umbrella on the bus.
She left her jacket at the office.
Common mistake
"I forgot my phone at the restaurant" when it is still physically there is less natural than "I left my phone at the restaurant". "Forget" is about memory. "Leave" points to where the object is. If you can say "it is at...", use "leave".
Trick to remember it
Quick rule
Did you know?
"I forgot my phone at the restaurant" is one of the most common errors among Spanish speakers learning English, because in Spanish "olvidé mi teléfono en el restaurante" is perfectly natural. The English distinction between the cognitive failure (forget) and the object's location (leave) does not exist in Spanish in the same way. Native English speakers notice this error immediately, the verb "forget" with a location sounds odd because "forget" describes a mental experience, not the physical state of an object.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I _____ my umbrella on the bus. Can I borrow yours?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She _____ to call her mum on her birthday. She felt terrible about it.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
One is recalling something yourself, the other is making someone else recall it.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
"Actually" corrects or contrasts an assumption; "really" intensifies or confirms.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy