"Forget" = to fail to remember; "miss" = to long for something or to fail to catch/attend something.
To fail to remember something, or to fail to do something through carelessness.
I forgot my phone at home. I have to go back.
Don't forget to lock the door when you leave.
I completely forgot that we had a meeting this morning.
To long for someone or something. Also: to fail to reach, catch, or attend something.
I really miss my family. It has been six months since I saw them.
She missed the bus and had to take a taxi to the airport.
I missed the best part of the movie because I was in the bathroom.
Common mistake
Confusing "I miss my country" with "I forget my country" — they are completely different. "I miss my country" = I long for my country (I love it, it is not here). "I forget my country" = I am forgetting my country (removing it from memory). Another error: "I missed to attend" is incorrect — "miss" takes a noun or gerund: "I missed attending" or "I missed the meeting".
Trick to remember it
Miss has two main uses to memorize: 1) To long for: "I miss you". 2) To fail to catch or attend: "I missed the train", "I missed the deadline", "you missed a spot". For forgetting (erasing from memory or failing to remember to do something): always forget. They do not confuse if you remember that "miss" always implies the thing existed and you did not reach it.
Quick rule
Forget = fail to remember or fail to do something. Miss = long for something absent, or fail to catch or attend something.
Did you know?
"Miss" is one of the words with the most distinct meanings in English: besides longing and failing to catch, it can be a courtesy title (Miss Johnson), a shot that fails ("he fired but missed"), and in baseball a strike when the batter swings and misses. The same word for such different concepts — very characteristic of English.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I _____ the beginning of the film because I arrived late.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She _____ to call her grandmother on her birthday. She felt terrible about it.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Forget = fail to remember or fail to do something. Miss = long for something absent, or fail to catch or attend something.
Confusing "I miss my country" with "I forget my country" — they are completely different. "I miss my country" = I long for my country (I love it, it is not here). "I forget my country" = I am forgetting my country (removing it from memory). Another error: "I missed to attend" is incorrect — "miss" takes a noun or gerund: "I missed attending" or "I missed the meeting".
Miss has two main uses to memorize: 1) To long for: "I miss you". 2) To fail to catch or attend: "I missed the train", "I missed the deadline", "you missed a spot". For forgetting (erasing from memory or failing to remember to do something): always forget. They do not confuse if you remember that "miss" always implies the thing existed and you did not reach it.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy