"Forgot" vs "Forget" [closed]

Solution 1:

I forgot his name

means that at some time past, I no longer remembered his name, but leaves open whether I can currently remember it.

I forget his name

can be construed in a couple of different ways:

• I forgot his name and I still can't remember it (but I hope you know who I'm talking about even so).
• I keep on forgetting his name.

Both are valid; the context might disambiguate between the two.

Solution 2:

Neither of the examples given in the question is really a correct or idiomatic for the most common situation, which is where you want to say that you can't remember the name right now. The correct and idiomatic ways to say that are:

I've forgotten his name.

I can't remember his name.

The possibilities mentioned in the question are wrong for this situation.

I forgot his name.

This one is only correct if for some reason you're focusing on the act or time at which the memory was lost, or describing a failure to remember something in the past. Examples: "I forgot his name a long time ago." "I forgot to go to the meeting yesterday."

I forget his name.

This is a common informal way of saying "I've forgotten his name." It's not correct if used for that meaning. The only way it could be correct is if you're trying to express the idea that the act of forgetting is repetitive or ongoing: "Every time I see his face, I draw a blank and forget his name."

Solution 3:

You're more or less right. I would however make a slight change to the second definition:

"I forget his name" - I do not remember his name at the moment - it's slipped my mind, but may come back to me soon/at some point. Alternatively, it is idiomatically equivalent to "I forgot his name".

Solution 4:

Before you even say "I forget" (for the case when you can't remember his name at that moment), the time of you "forgetting" has already past. His name isn't -going- from your mind that moment; it's -gone- out of you mind at that moment. Therefore, I think that the only time you should say "I forget" is when you regularly can't remember something.

The same is for running. Right after you finish a race you don't say "I run," you say "I ran." Furthermore, even when your are running you don't say "I run," you say "I am running." I run only works as an answer to some question like "What do you do when..." or to say you run regularly.

The same works for the -to be- verb. You don't say "I am the president" right after your term runs out. You only say "I am the president" during your term.