verb pattern

Question

Is forget to do something or forget doing something?

Answer 1

forget to do something

I forgot to buy it. -- Se me olvidó comprarlo.

forget doing something

I forget reading that. -- No recuerdo haber leído eso. or Se me olvidó que lo había leído.

Answer 2

forget to do something or forget doing something

We can actually use both patterns.

I forgot to go to the store.

He forgets waking up in the middle of the night.

I am having trouble thinking of a way to explain the difference between the two, but there is definitely a difference.

Okay, here, I will try to explain...

I think we use "to forget to do something" when we intended to do something but, because we forgot, we never actually did it.

I think we use "to forget doing something" when we actually did something but we do not remember doing it.

Answer 3

Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though some people talk like this, it's not correct.

This type of error is called a "dangling modifier" or "misplaced modifier." It results from the miscombination of two sentences. In this case:

I forget doing that

1). I forget

2). I am doing that

It's necessary to subordinate one of the two sentences:

I don't think that it's a question of misplaced/dangling modifier but of logic/usage. If one changes it to "I forget having done that." (and such a change of tense in no way alters the grammatical nature of the utterance), it is quite acceptable. This formulation is somewhat different from "I don't remember having done that." in that the former implies an acknowledgment of "having done" something but no recollection, while the latter could also mean (Since I have no memory of the event), I doubt that it occurred.

Since the whole notion of forgetting/remembering is tied to prior events, it is, at best, quite unusual to construct a sentence that implies that the forgetting is happening at the same time as the forgotten experience/activity.

Answer 4

Corrígeme si me equivoco, pero aunque algunas personas hable así, no es correcta.

Esta clase de equivocación es llamada el "dangling modifier" or "misplaced modifier." Se resulta de la mala combinación de los dos oraciones. En este caso:

I forget doing that

1). I forget

2). I am doing that

Es necesario subordinar una de las dos oraciónes:

When/while (I am) doing that, I forget (something) - Mientras estoy haciéndolo, olvido (algo)

No se permite usar intrasitivamente este verbo (forget/olvidar) en español pero en inglés es posible (pero a veces cae malo).

Por ejemplo:

When (I am) reading, I often forget about everything but the story - Muchas veces olvido de todo mientras estoy leyendo.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though some people talk like this, it's not correct.

This type of error is called a "dangling modifier" or "misplaced modifier." It results from the miscombination of two sentences. In this case:

I forget doing that

1). I forget

2). I am doing that

It's necessary to subordinate one of the two sentences:

When/while (I am) doing that, I forget (something) - Mientras estoy haciéndolo, olvido (algo)

It's not allowable to use this verb (forget/olvidar) intransitively in Spanish, but in English it's possible (but sometimes sounds odd).

For example:

When (I am) reading, I often forget about everything but the story - Muchas veces olvido de todo mientras estoy leyendo.

Answer 5

Here are examples of how to use "to do" something:

"Don't forget to do your homework."

"Would you like to do something fun today?"

" I have nothing to do tomorrow."