How to Use Forget, Forgot, Forgotten (Irregular Verbs)

August 6, 2025

5 min read

By Yash, D

The verb forget has three main forms: forget (present), forgot (past) and forgotten (past participle). Read this post to refresh your memory on the verb, to forget.

Past Tense Of

How to Use Forget, Forgot, Forgotten (Irregular Verbs)

What’s the past tense of “forget”?

Before we forget the topic of today’s post: what’s the correct past tense of the verb, to forget? If you have forgotten, stick around to refresh your memory.

Forget, forgot, forgotten

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To forget, defined by Collins Dictionary, is “to not remember to do something that you ought to do, or to bring or buy something that you ought to bring or buy”. For example, you might say, ‘I was in such a rush that I had forgotten to bring sunscreen to the beach’ (which is in the past perfect tense).

Verb forms of forget

	Present	Past	Future
Simple	I forget	I forgot	I will forget
Continuous	I am forgetting	I was forgetting	I will be forgetting
Perfect	I have forgotten	I had forgotten	I will have forgotten
Perfect Continuous	I have been forgetting	I had been forgetting	I will have been forgetting

Tenses of forget.

Forgot or forgotten

The past tense of forget (i.e., forgot) in sentences.

Take a look at these sentences which shows the past tense vs. the past participle form of forget:

She forgot her friend’s birthday due to all the recent stress in her life.

She’d forgotten to pack a toothbrush for her trip, and so asked to borrow mine.

Perfect tenses use the past participle form of the verb (e.g., forgotten). To create the past perfect or present perfect tense, we pair the auxiliaries had/have with the past participle verb form, e.g., had forgotten/have forgotten.

The simple past tense just uses the simple past verb conjugation, without any additional verbs required.

Sentence examples: forget, forgot, forgotten

Verb form	Example sentences
forget
forget	I forget to buy milk every time I go to the store. She often forgets her keys at home. I feel like I'm forgetting something.
forgot	I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home. They forgot to set their alarm clock and overslept. She forgot her friend’s birthday and felt terrible about it.
forgotten	They had completely forgotten about their anniversary until their friends reminded them. He realized he had forgotten his wallet at home when he reached the cashier. Everyone had forgotten the amidst the chaos of the day.

Similar words and phrases

Category	Examples
synonyms	overlook, oversee, neglect, leave behind, fail to recall, can’t recall, lose track of, ignore, forsake

Worksheet: Forget, forgot, forgotten

FAQs

What is the simple past tense of forget?
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The simple past tense of forget is “forgot.” You use it for simple past events without an auxiliary verb, like “She forgot her friend’s birthday and felt terrible about it.”

What is the past participle of forget?
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The past participle of forget is “forgotten.” It’s used in perfect tenses, like the present perfect or past perfect, always with an auxiliary verb such as “have” or “had.”

When should I use “forgot”?
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Use “forgot” for simple past tense actions. It describes a completed event in the past without needing an auxiliary verb. Example from the post: “He forgot his lunch at home.”

When should I use “forgotten”?
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Use “forgotten” as the past participle in perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect). It must be paired with an auxiliary verb like “have” or “had,” such as “They have forgotten their passports.”

Is “has forgot” correct according to the post?
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No, the post states “He has forgot his lunch at home” is incorrect. When using the auxiliary verb “has” (or “have”/”had”), you must use the past participle “forgotten.”

Sources

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of forget.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/forget. Accessed 30 May, 2023.

Yash, D. "How to Use Forget, Forgot, Forgotten (Irregular Verbs)." Grammarflex, Sep 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/forget-forgot-forgotten/.

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