Just for Fun- Is This Proper Word Usage? Not a Terribly Interesting Question....

My husband writes contracts as part of his job. He is a master wordsmith.

I will ask him about the forget/forgot thing tonight.

If my husband was always correcting my grammar, I would be ticked after a while. I am thankful he refrains....then again after doing ti all day at work maybe he gets tired of it.

OK, this makes me glad I only had to worry about arranging my Q-tips for the party. :)

You are a great sport!

Most of the things your husband is correcting aren't wrong to begin with.

Stupid and dumb are interchangeable except when dumb is being used to mean mute, which is a bit archaic anyway.

It's not grammatically incorrect to love an object or state that something is "the best you've ever had". It's also accepted that many languages embrace exaggeration as form of emotional expression.

So you walk around innocently expressing your opinion, he micromanages your words instead of responding to the sentiment you've expressed, and you thank him.

Makes me happy I married the strong, silent type.

"I forget" is not incorrect.

That said, your husband's behavior is obnoxious. I appreciate good grammar (I have degrees in Communication & English Literature and am a tutor), but I appreciate not being an a-hole even more. It's important to use correct grammar in written work that will be seen by others but in conversation? As long as he knows what you mean, there is no need to call attention to what he perceives to be errors.

We all have things in our marriages that we choose to put up with and if this is one of those things that you handle with more grace and humor than the rest of us, then good for you - and for him, who is lucky to have a partner who tolerates this obnoxiousness. But if it bothers you, I would have a heart to heart with him about learning to treat you with respect.

"I forget" means that he forgets every time he takes that route - present tense indicates an ongoing situation. There is an implied "always" between "I" and "forget."

"I forgot" means that he can't recall information that he usually knows - past tense indicates a one-time occurrence.

It is not incorrect.
I forget things all the time. "I" is the simple subject, and "forget" (present tense) is the simple predicate. "Things" is the object--what I forget. The simplest is: I forget. Perfectly correct.

It actually changes the meaning of what is being said to say instead, "I forgot."
Perhaps he means "I forgot" or perhaps he doesn't. Ask him sometime.

I forgot means it is past tense. I forget means I do this. Obviously he does forget....
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ETA
By the way.. "I forgot" is not incorrect grammar, either. But it does change the meaning of what is being said. So the only way to know if he is correct is to ask him to explain if he is speaking in present tense or past tense. Present tense is right then in that moment. And it really is right then, if he asks the question and can't answer...

Perhaps, if you really want to be a stickler, you could catch him if he says "I forget" first, and then asks the question. ;)

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Sorry to add again, but additionally, it may be an issue whether or not he expects to remember the information at a later date. For example, when a word is on the tip of your tongue and it just isn't there, but you know you will think of it as soon as you walk away from the conversation.... You haven't forgotten the word entirely. You wouldn't say you forgot it. But, "I forget" the word. It's essentially the same outcome. Present tense--in this moment I forget. If it is an ongoing thing from the past that is going forward, it is past tense... I forgot.

I am certainly not a linguist and can't say for sure which is correct, but I actually think your husband is right. In the exact context you wrote, saying "I forget" sounds more correct to me than "I forgot." He is telling you that, at that moment, he does not remember where the restaurant is. He is not telling you that he couldn't remember something earlier (which would be "forgot"), rather, he is telling you that he cannot remember right now ("forget").

Sorry, I know that's not the answer you wanted. For what it's worth, I've never lived in the south, so I don't think it's regional.

To save you future pain with your husband:
its refers to possession
it's = it is

I would say "I forget" in this case. I would mean "I always forget if it's on Roosevelt road." So although once you tell me that it IS on Roosevelt road, I will briefly KNOW where it is, next time we're driving there, I'm going to forget again, because "I always forget". So, yeah, I'd say your husband is correct.

I "forgot" would also be correct, but perhaps not quite what he's trying to communicate.

I can understand why you are annoyed. There is value to proper and clear communication, of course, much as there is value to proper spelling. Both are lost arts, not taught in school, and not observed by teachers, spokespeople and national leaders in speeches.

So your husband is correct about the "I couldn't care less" but I can understand why you are in the habit of saying "I could care less." More people say it incorrectly these days, so you are saying what you hear the most frequently. Another example is "How are you?" "Good." (It should be "Fine" or "I'm doing well." (Adverb modifying the verb vs. an adjective. But no one learns that in school, and it's not common usage, so the mistake perpetuates itself."

I think "I forget" is fine when talking about the immediate present - we're driving, I can't remember right now where it is, so I forget. Maybe you could argue that 1 second after someone forgets something, it's in the past, so by the time he expresses it, he should be using the past tense, "I forgot." But "I forgot" could be what he did a week ago or 20 years ago as well. So he's reporting to you his very immediate dilemma which is that he doesn't know where something is, right now, in the present. He's also saying, "I can't remember" but you wouldn't correct him to say "I couldn't remember" (as in, "I couldn't remember 5 seconds ago and now I'm telling you about it, so it's in the past.").

I wouldn't let him use "I'm from the South" as an excuse - rules of grammar don't vary by region. Patterns of usage do, but these are habits and not true rules.

If you want to catch him in an error, I wouldn't use this one. But if you want to catch him in poor manners, I'm sure you have plenty of opportunities.

At the present time he forgets. If he's talking about the past, he forgot.

I'd be so annoyed if my husband did this. I'd laugh and tell him "cut it out!" every time. If he continued to do it I'd tell him I was annoyed and ask him to stop.

I suggest that in all the examples of his corrections he is basing his thoughts on his view of the world. His interpretations have nothing to do with correct word usage. The definition of love does not say we can only love people and not a printer. It's his judgment that you're being overly dramatic. Not mine or millions of other people. It is corresct to say you love the pronter. When you say it's the best bacon it's understood that it's the best you've had. Stupid and dumb are synonyms. Either is correct.

i'm a grammar nazi too, but your husband sounds over-the-top!
and in this case you're right. 'i forget' is correct IF there's an object, eg 'i forget your middle name all the time, sweetie, i'm sorry.' but in the context which he's using it, it is incorrect, and he should say 'i have forgotten.'
rub his nose in it<G>.
and if you really want to one up him, remind him that he is 'stupid' for not knowing that 'dumb' really means 'unable to speak' and got co-opted eons ago by the politically incorrect and has now become part of the accepted vernacular, but is never interchanged with 'stupid' by the truly erudite.
:) khairete
S.

Your husband would drive me crazy.

You could say, "I have forgotten," and that should work for you both.

I'm like your husband. I'm always correcting things in my mind. I try not to add my mouth to it. Maybe your husband's insistence on proper language use will pay off in the way your children speak when they're grown up! And your sense of humor - which is clear in your post - is going to help them learn.

There are some expressions and phrases which may not be exactly grammatical, but are still acceptable. Probably "I forget" is one of them. But since your husband loves to analyze language, you might want to switch to "I have forgotten." (Don't forget.)

I have forgotten, past tense

I forgot, statement, past tense. When asking a question that is about a current/present tense thing then he needs to finish the whole sentence.

I forget ??????, what did you forget? Current and part of a complete statement. I forget....things sometimes? .....What color of socks I put on this morning? ....Where a place is, what road it is on?

I'd be pissed off and do some research if I was married to your husband. He's a snob.

Research the types of love, there are 4 basic kinds. Each is defined by the culture that is using them. For instance if a christian is discussing Agape love they are probably using it in reference to God's love for us. But a culture that doesn't believe in God could use that form of love as the parent for the child or to some other diety.

There is:

Storge

Philia

Eros

Agape

Again, different cultures define them slightly differently.

Storge, fondness through familiarity, how we love our cousins and other family. Families had to stay together to stay alive in ancient times. If they split off they'd have less chance of survival so loving our family, even the extended ones, is a natural inherent trait.

Philia, is the love between friends. Not a love due to needing to reproduce or to connect people together to defend their family or anything other than we like them. We have things in common with them and share life experiences with them.

Eros is love of another person in that intimate way.

Agape is unconditional sacrificing all sort of love. God's love for us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

Loving how good something was, such as bacon, is not an improper use of that term, it's the affection, pleasure, satisfaction sort of use that does mean you love that bacon. It's all in how you are defining the word you are using.

So, next time you say what you mean and he corrects you you will have the words to spout at him....

Well, I'm using the word love in the (might be Storge) sense. I felt pleasure when I ate the bacon, it filled the need in my body for nutrients, it had a pleasant flavor that was above my expectations. So by using the word love I am saying all that in one word. Please look it up dear, I am right and you are wrong.

I'm answering your poll because you asked, but I believe the whole topic to be silly. I think your husband needs to stop being the grammar police.

But -- In this case I agree with your husband. If you are currently forgetting something like what road you are looking for, then it's "I forget." Forgot is for something that happened previously, imo.

Sadly, I think your husband is correct. He's in the process of forgetting so it's present tense.

I really don't know, but ...

I always thought "I forget" was the shortened version of "I forget which street it is."

I understand what you're saying. I'm really not sure what the right answer is. But I do know that many common phrases (too tired to think of an example) use to be much longer. This could be one of them.

I forgot my lunch, I forget where things are.

Honestly, I would ditch "forgot/forget/forgotten" completely because it's rather awkward. I would say "I don't remember."

Funny! (I am the same way as your husband, except I keep my mouth shut. Pretty much. I can't help but think it, though.)

I think that it's possible for "forget" to be correct, but it is so often misused in that same context that it requires qualifiers to show that the speaker recognizes the general misapplication and isn't doing the same. Hear it this way: "Is it on Roosevelt Road? (Every time I get to this point in my thinking process) I forget." Does that make sense?

In that same vein, one thing that I CANNOT STAND is when people say "whenever" instead of "when". Ugh.

I also take issue with someone proclaiming the "best" the way you mention. And "I love you more than anybody" should include "else" at the end. It's grammatically impossible otherwise.

Some of us are wired to understand that certain words have very specific meanings. When we hear those particular words, we don't have to wonder about anything (except "Is this what she really means?). We can take the sentence at face value and keep it moving. When we run into people who seem to just throw words around in fits of passion or just unclarity, it muddies the waters of communication and just makes it too complicated to talk. Some of us are wired to process this more easily than others, and we cannot wrap our minds around not knowing "the rules". It's like the difference between a "math person" and a person who can learn that 2+2=4.

Many words can have the same general meaning, but when you really want to convey something, it's important to use that RIGHT word, so that your audience doesn't have to wonder which nuance applies to your story. When you don't have to stop and explain yourself, you can move on to something else.

Tell your husband to join a support group of people who equally obsess over syntax. You might be surprised at what's available to him, and he could have a ball.

ETA: Regarding the "love" thing, I don't know what the rules are. However, his understanding of the word plus hearing the way that so many people cavalierly toss it around are likely at the root of his not wanting you to use it that way. I think that he is a person who NEEDS to know that saying and doing certain things the RIGHT WAY matters, and he takes it out on you. He can't help but lose interest in the whole story when he hears someone "butcher" the language. (I stop reading certain posts here or stop listening to some people speak. I can't help it; it's an involuntary turn-off. By the same token, I am so turned on when I hear it done "right". Oh!) I think that your husband doesn't want you to sound the way that he perceives others to sound. He believes that you are "better" than that and wants you to represent yourself well. He doesn't mean to be a pill about it. It's just so simple for him, and he thinks so much of you that it doesn't make sense to him that you don't get this.