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Both can translate to 'olvidar', but they point to very different things.
Side-by-side comparison
"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
- •Is the problem in your MIND (failed to remember)? "Forget".
- •Is the problem about a LOCATION (you left it there)? "Leave".
- •If you mention a location: always "leave" ("I left it at the office").
Quick rule
- •Did the object stay at a specific location? "Leave".
- •Was it a memory failure with no location mentioned? "Forget".
Did you know?
The verb "forget" describes a failure of memory, not the place where something ended up. That is why "I forgot my phone at the restaurant" sounds odd to English ears: you do not forget a thing in a place, you leave it there. Compare "I forgot my phone number" (memory) with "I left my phone at the restaurant" (location). "I forgot my phone" on its own works when you simply did not remember to bring it.
Practise what you learned
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
Related word pairs
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.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
"Actually" corrects or contrasts an assumption; "really" intensifies or confirms.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy