se me olvidaba

Question

does this means i almost forgot?

Answer 1

It means, in usage, 'I forgot (it)'. Literally it means 'it forgot itself on me' - Spanish language structure tends to put the 'blame' on the inanimate object rather than putting the onus on the person...

It's worth noting that to simply say I forgot (it), you'd use the preterite - se me olvidó.

The imperfect usually refers to:

1/ An action that was going on whilst something else happens - he was walking down the road when, in true comedic style, a piano fell on his head. It does not seem likely that this would be the case here, I doubt that you would write that something was in the process of forgetting itself to you, and then go on to describe another event.

2/ Habitual action, I used to forget my 7 times table when I was little but now I know it by heart, 7x7=42 etc. It seems more likely that your 'olvidaba' refers to this.

Answer 2

Se me olvidado el maletín.

As afowen states this tends to shift the emphasis from who forgot the briefcase to the fact the the briefcase was forgotten (i.o.p. me shows ownership-my briefcase). That could be said of the passive voice in general. It downplays the agent [mentioned or not] and shifts the emphasis to the subject/object. Another nuance of the pronominal use is that the briefcase was forgotten accidentally and not on purpose.

John Smith wrote the book. (tells us something about John Smith)

The book was written by John Smith. (tells us something about the book)