I forgot would refer to a single past instance; I forget might imply that one is still searching one's memory banks with some vague hope of recollection, as in, Hm, let me see, I forget. Or tha latter could refer to an ongoing or repetitive condition. Respectfully submitted for your consideration, lest we forget.
PhilO
"This is this; this ain't something else. This is this." - Robert DeNiro, "The Deer Hunter," 1978.
the only time I say "forget" is if the verb describes a general situation:
I always forget to zipp-up after pissing.
I usually forget my manners after 7 pints.
Tomorrow I will forget to clean up my flat.
But, if someone asks me something and I answer I forget to it, it would sound wrong to me, because the mere fact that I tried to remember had taken place in the past, therefore forget would have to be in the past too, as in, you got it: forgot.
Like PhilO and others, I'll use "forget" in the sense of an ongoing state that may be resolved. Arguably needless information when you get down to it, but we talk to ourselves as well when we talk to others.
AmarJi,
Like Philo and Avanturia and others have told you,
its to do with tense.
"Forgot" is past tense declension;
"Forget" is a present tense declension
and
"Will forget" is a future tense declension
of the verb "TO FORGET".
Some of your usages of the verb
are just grammatically INCORRECT.
However that does not mean you shouldn't keep on
speaking the way you are.
It may suited your personality.
Walden wrote:It seems to me that the older generation, especially (speaking of my own kinsmen), use what we usually think of as present tense words for the past in some cases, though, as Avanutria suggests, I think it's true that in the case of forget/forgot it tends to vary with context.
Among my older relatives:
run = run or ran
eat = eat, ate, or eaten (possibly a legitimate archaic usage)
give = give, gave, or given
Lay off the older generation Walden or this will be something not soon forgotten!
Mike (aka the geezer)
"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough." --Albert Einstein
Tell us something.: A long time chatty Chiffer but have been absent for almost two decades. Returned in 2022 and still recognize some names! I also play anglo concertina now.
