Olvidé / se me olvidó

Question

I've see both of these constructions before to say that "I forgot" something, can someone explain to me the difference between the first and the second, the so-called "accidental" se pronoun? Is it a matter of emphasis, that I accidentally forgot? And if so, isn't the very fact that I forgot obvious enough that it wasn't on purpose?

I've always thought that, too. - Goldie_Miel, May 22, 2011

Yeah it is confusing - TheSilentHero, May 22, 2011

Answer 1

It is a matter of perspective. The first construction puts you on the foreground as the subject ([Yo] Lo olvidé), making you the active responsible for not being able to remember, whether it is because you wanted to forget, you did not try hard enough to remember, or because you accidentally forgot it.

In the second one, the subject of the sentence is the memory that vanishing from the brain (Eso se me olvidó), and you are on the background, being the one (the indirect object) affected by such accident. This time one can only assume that it was an accident with you as a "victim".

With my final exams coming up, I certainly feel like a victim of my poor memory!! :) - amy_moreno, May 23, 2011

Answer 2

I just did the lesson on this type of phrasing in Spanish. It exists in English as well, but when we are children, the adults around us discourage it. E.g., "My book got lost!", of course, the book did nothing, I lost the book; so teacher, mommy and daddy all tell us not to say that. Unfortunately, 1) We continue to excuse ourselves this way whenever we can get away with it, and 2) Sometimes the real culprit cannot be identified - "the book really did get lost", not because I was careless, but because it was moved (by person(s) unknown) to the table where books that were being given away were kept, and "it got given away"!

"Se me olvidó" would be in the middle between "I lost the book" and "My book got lost", because that "me" still implicates you, whereas in "got lost" there is no real culprit. - lazarus1907, May 23, 2011

Answer 3

In Spanish, using the "Se" form kind of lets the "perpetrator" of the "accident" off the hook. Accidents are expressed euphemistically.

Example: Se me olvidó el libro. is literally like saying

" The book forgot itself to me." In other words, it's the book's "fault" not yours.

Other verbs common used this way are: Perder, Romper, and Caer. We have nothing like this in English, so it is very unique (and fun!)

No, it's not the book's fault, your translation seems unaccurate to me. Read the link below :) - cogumela, May 23, 2011

Hi, Cogumela, I was using the word "fault" as hyperbole. This is part of Laz's answer in your link: So, why not let the problem in question be the "responsible" Instead of "responsible" I used "fault". Sorry, but I stick by my original thoughts. - NancyGrace, May 23, 2011

Answer 4

Hi, Thesilent!

This issue was discussed and explained in a previous thread:link

Answer 5

The difference between the two constructions is that of active and passive voice; in terms of usage it's a means of subtly shifting the blame away from yourself (kids caught doing something naughty use it all the time) - consider the difference between

"I lost it" (lo perdí) and

"it got lost" (se me perdió).

Oh, and in my experience, "se me perdió/olvidó/etc" is a lot more commonly used than actually owning up.... - Copernicus, May 23, 2011

Answer 6

¡Eeee olvídalo!

Answer 7

Lo olvidé. Se me olvidó. Se me cayó. Se me perdió. Lo perdí. Lo dejó caer. Se le cayó...

Yes, but why is one preferred over the other? I can understand the difference between "se me cayó" and "lo dejó caer" but not with "olvidar" and "perder"; they both seem accidental by the nature of the word... if that makes any sense... - Goldie_Miel, May 22, 2011

ie: "Se me olvidó" says I didn´t have control over forgetting, I am not the subject. "Lo olvidé" says I forgot it, I am the subject, focusing on my forgetfulness - 005faa61, May 22, 2011

Thanks. - TheSilentHero, May 23, 2011

Answer 8

Bump for other answers hopefully, I asked this at a late hour.