Olvidar means 'to forget', and it is a regular -ar verb with a couple of useful constructions. Plainly, olvidé las llaves (I forgot the keys). Very commonly, Spanish uses the reflexive olvidarse de: me olvidé de llamarte (I forgot to call you). There is also an idiomatic structure, se me olvidó ('it slipped my mind'), which shifts the blame off the speaker. Because forgetting comes up naturally in apologies and explanations, olvidar is a practical verb. As a regular -ar verb the base conjugation is predictable; the interest is in the reflexive and idiomatic uses.
Quick facts
Olvidar (to forget) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Olvidé las llaves (I forgot the keys).
Olvidarse de: me olvidé de llamar.
Se me olvidó (it slipped my mind).
Useful when explaining mistakes.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Olvidar is a regular verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
olvidar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know olvidar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice olvidar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: olvido, tú: olvidas, él: olvida, nosotros: olvidamos, vosotros: olvidáis, ellos: olvidan
Olvidar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use olvidar in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with olvidar or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Olvidar is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.