Confused on the verb to use
I know you can say the following Se me olvido la reunion. By the way I don't know how to put in accent marks on the computer. I realize there should be an accent over the O. The reason I am confused is why isn't it se me olvide ? Here is another example. No pude pagar porque a mi se me quedaron los cheques de viajero en casa. Shouldn't quedaron be quede because you are saying me quede not ellos quedaron.... I am so confused. Another example Pedimos una tortilla espanola pero a la cocinera se le quemaron las patats. Again why is it no se le quema because it is la cocinera that burnt the patas?
2 Answers
The se in this sentence is some times called the no fault se. It's olvidó because you are saying - It became forgotten to me. Much less your fault than 'I forgot'. The other examples function in much the same way. The potatoes burnt themselves on the cook, rather than the cook burnt them. It's a nice way to avoid putting the blame on someone.
It seems you want past actions to be present actions. In these situations you can process the difference in tenses the same way you do in English.
No pude pagar porque a mi se me quedaron los cheques de viajero en casa. Shouldn't quedaron be quede because you are saying me quede not ellos quedaron....
Here "a mí" indicates that you are the one affected by the action of the checks and not that you stayed home. It´s possible to say this sentence without this extra emphasis in a less confusing but more elementary way, "No pude pagar porque mis cheques de viajero se quedaron en casa."
