Forget

[Xinfu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw8s...has_verified=1

At 5:26:
-The one thing I forget to bring is snow tyres.

He forgot in the past; do you think FORGET is wrong and only FORGOT is correct?

[Rusty]

Using the present tense 'forget' is correct. He was noticing the snow and lamenting that he doesn't have snow tires.

[Xinfu]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Using the present tense 'forget' is correct. He was noticing the snow and lamenting that he doesn't have snow tires.

Could you tell me more about why the present tense FORGET is correct? When he speaks about forgetting something, it must be in the past that he forgot something, the time when he could have remembered to bring snow tyres, etc.

Am I correct here?in answer to the question from a teacher as to why a student does not have the essay with him)
-I forgot to bring the essay. (=I forgot to bring it when I came out. FORGET here would be wrong, because he is referring to a past situation.)

[Rusty]

Forgetting can happen in the present.

I forget the reason.
The one thing I forget is birthdays.
We forgive and forget.
They forget that dinner is at seven.

The man's sentence is much like the second one I listed above.

[Señor Hombre]

When deciding which one to use forget or forgot...
if using for a broad description you would use forget, if it is specific you would use forgot.
example (sorry Rusty, going to use your example)
The one thing I forget is birthdays (broad / everyone's birthday / past and future)
The one thing I forgot is Rusty's birthday (specific / past)

It is a difficult one as both words can be used in most cases.

[Rusty]

Even the last example you wrote can be said using the present tense, if you forget my birthday. And you can't forget my birthday because you don't know when it is.

You use the past tense when the forgetting happened in the past.


I forgot the keys. (in the past)
I forget the keys. (every time)

[Xinfu]

Thank you for the detailed answers, but the problem is still unsolved.

You use the past tense when the forgetting happened in the past.

In that video, the detective Richard Moore obviously FORGOT in the past when he WENT OUT. Do you mean the detective means forgetting snow tyres is his habit?

[Rusty]

The detective was not talking about a past event. That is why he used 'forget'.
He is in the process of lamenting when he sees the snow. He thinks about how he has no snow tires, so he uses the present tense to state that he forgets them.

There is nothing at all unusual about the use of the present tense when lamenting something.

[Xinfu]

Thank you~