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 -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, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: olvido, tú: olvidas, él: olvida, nosotros: olvidamos, vosotros: olvidáis, ellos: olvidan
The past participle is olvidado (he olvidado) and the gerund is olvidando (estoy olvidando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with olvidar or that behave like it.
Olvidar is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.