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7 Useful English Phrases to Say When You Forget Something

April 11, 2016 by Melanie

7 Useful Phrases to Say When You Forget Something | EnglishTeacherMelanie.com

In this lesson, you’ll learn 7 English phrases that you can use in conversation to explain that you forget something.

 

We all forget things. It happens to everyone. It can be embarrassing sometimes. Let’s quickly review the basic ways to say you forget something:

I forget.
I can’t remember.
I don’t remember.

I’m sorry I wasn’t at the meeting. I forgot about it.

We forget things in different ways, and in English there are different phrases you can use to communicate that you forget something.

 

1. “I lost my train of thought.”

lose your train of thought
= forget what you were thinking, right in the middle of thinking about it

A “train of thought” = a connected series of thoughts or ideas in your head

You’re telling someone a story or about an idea you had, but you get distracted, or you are interrupted by something, and you forget what you were talking about.

What was I saying? I lost my train of thought.

I was in the middle of telling a story, but the phone rang and I lost my train of thought.

 

2. “It slipped my mind.”

slip one’s mind
= forget something

I can’t believe I forgot her birthday. It completely slipped my mind!

We had a meeting at 1pm today. Did it slip your mind?

He forgot to get some milk at the grocery store. I guess it just slipped his mind.

Pronunciation note: Remember, the -ed at the of slipped is pronounced /t/. The -ed is not pronounced as a separate syllable.
 

3. “It’s on the tip of my tongue!”

be on the tip of one’s tongue

You know that you know something, but you can’t remember it at that moment!

I know this! I know this! It’s on the tip of my tongue! His name is … oh, I can’t remember!

Wait. Don’t tell me. I know this song. The name is on the tip of my tongue!

 
Learn more: 5 Useful English Phrases to Say When You are Late

 

 

4. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”

ring a bell
= something is familiar, but you can’t completely remember it

His name rings a bell, but I can’t remember what he looks like.

Have you seen that new TV show, the one about the married couple?
~ It doesn’t ring a bell.

= it doesn’t sound familiar, I don’t recognize it

 

5. “It went in one ear and out the other.”

go in one ear and out the other
= forget something as soon as you hear it, forget something quickly

You are listening to someone speaking, but you are not really listening carefully. When the other person says something, you hear it but you don’t remember it.

He told me is his name, but it went in one ear & out the other.

She won’t remember. Everything you tell her goes in one ear and out the other!

I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said. It went in one ear and out the other. I’m very distracted today.

Be careful! This is not a nice thing to say to someone, because you are saying that you aren’t paying attention to him or her!
 

6. “Can you refresh my memory?”

refresh one’s memory
= help someone remember something

It doesn’t ring a bell. Can you refresh my memory?

I have to read my notes again from the previous meeting to refresh my memory.

Be careful! “Let me refresh your memory” is a common phrase, but it can have a negative meaning. People like to forget bad or negative experiences. Sometimes people say “let me refresh your memory” in an angry way to make someone remember something negative.

“You don’t remember me? Let me refresh your memory. You stole my phone!“

 

7. “I had a senior moment.”

have a senior moment
(usually said by older people)
= a humorous way of saying that you momentarily can’t remember something simple because you are getting older

You can blame forgetting something on your age!

A senior citizen is an older person, usually someone who is 65 or older. (Sixty-five is the official retirement age in many countries.) Senior is often used by itself as a shortened form of senior citizen.

I had a senior moment. I forgot what my new car looked like and I spent 20 minutes looking for it in the parking lot.

I had a senior moment yesterday. I thought my brother was my son.

People like to joke that they are getting old when they are 30 or 40 years old. Sometimes a young person will say “I had a senior moment” or “I’m having a senior moment” as a way to say that they are getting old.

 

Do you have any fun expressions in your language to say you forget something? Share them in the comments below!


Filed Under: Blog, Popular, Vocabulary Tagged With: useful phrases

Comments

  1. Julio says

    April 11, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    These two Are my “Bible” : sorry, it slipped my mind, i had a senior moment !????
    Fun expression in spanish: el que no tiene cabeza tiene pies – translate as: ” He who hasn’t head has feet ” when you forget something and have go back for it.

    • Melanie says

      April 11, 2016 at 10:44 pm

      Hi, Julio! I like that expression!

      I think there is a similar expression in English:

      “I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached” – meaning that you are terrible at remembering things and you always forget something, like your keys or your phone!

      Have a great week,
      Melanie
      : )

      • Kapil says

        April 15, 2016 at 7:53 pm

        I like it

    • Hilali Ali zuberi says

      February 12, 2017 at 12:09 pm

      Hi thanks for teach us good blesse you

  2. Imah says

    April 12, 2016 at 6:36 am

    Wowwwwww a truly important lesson ????
    Thankyouuuuu

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:00 pm

      I’m happy to hear that! Thanks!

      • Juan says

        April 18, 2016 at 6:48 pm

        Thanks again for the tips. That I have, My memory is short, o maybe, I could say, I have teflon in my brain, I do not memorize anyghing .All times I forget my English lessons. Those examples sound like in spanish too.

  3. fzh says

    April 12, 2016 at 7:22 am

    Thank you very much for this useful lesson.

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:00 pm

      No problem! I’m happy to help.

  4. Alair Ferreira Rodrigues says

    April 12, 2016 at 7:34 am

    Great, Great lesson.

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:01 pm

      Thank you! I’m happy that you enjoyed it.

  5. José Reyes says

    April 12, 2016 at 9:51 am

    I have just included them in my vocabulary. And I am looking forward to telling them to my students. Thank you.

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      Excellent!

      • Awesom says

        August 29, 2016 at 11:00 pm

        Thank u teacher Melanie.

  6. Cheikh SOW says

    April 12, 2016 at 10:07 am

    Great lesson ! Thanks a lot !
    An equivalent of “It’s on the tip of my tongue!” in French is “Je l’ai sur le bout de la langue !”

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 4:50 pm

      That’s awesome! I had never heard that expression in French!

      • esther says

        June 7, 2016 at 5:20 pm

        In Spanish is “Lo tengo en la punta de la lengua’. It is a similar expression!

  7. AnuradhaS says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    A train of phrases help to refresh my memory else get into my ear and out of the other may have senior memory soon.

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 4:44 pm

      Almost, but not quite!

      You can’t have a “train of phrases.” That’s not an English expression.

      “Go in one ear and out the other” is a fixed expression. You can’t change it to “get.”

      A “senior moment” is also a fixed expression. You can’t change it to a “senior memory.”

  8. AnuradhaS says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    Very useful. .

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      I’m happy to hear that! Thank you.

  9. Fateme says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:26 pm

    Great lesson. Thanks a lot.

    • Melanie says

      April 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      No problem! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

  10. LONG says

    April 12, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    good, thanks

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 7:02 pm

      No problem!

  11. Geraldo Barboza says

    April 12, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    All your lessons are always great … Thank you for all your hard work in helping all of us!
    We all appreciate your help!!!

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 7:02 pm

      I’m happy to hear that, Geraldo! Thank you for making my day! : )

      • Kaniz says

        May 9, 2017 at 5:27 pm

        this are really helpful Mam…can u give me tips of how to improve my english…i am weak in many aspects…grammer..vocabulary..etc

  12. Johnson Lo says

    April 12, 2016 at 9:25 pm

    Johnson say:
    I’m an old man, older than 70. Sometimes I forget the names of my new friends. “It went in one ear and out the other.” There is an expression in Chinese : “左耳入,右耳出.” It means that” the voice come into the left ear and out the right ear.”
    Thank you very much for your lesson. It is funny.

    Johnson

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 7:06 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed the lesson, Johnson! That’s interesting that you have the same expression in Chinese! It’s a small world. Now, whenever you forget the names of your new friends, you can just say “I’m having a senior moment” and everything will be OK!

  13. Javad says

    April 12, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    They are great.I’m going to use them in different situations.
    Thank you for your attention

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      I’m happy to hear that, Javad!

  14. Mohit Raj says

    April 13, 2016 at 12:47 am

    Hiiii…Ma’am
    It was very wonderful lesson…
    It refreshed my memory otherwise I was having senior moments…;-)

    Thank you

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Thank you, Mohit! I hope you don’t have too many senior moments! : )

  15. Lavdim says

    April 13, 2016 at 6:23 am

    As always with useful lessons, peope who want to learn English need teacher like you.
    Thank you Mrs. Melanie.
    In my country when someone can’t remember what he/she was saying, we say playfully to him/her that he/she was lying :D

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:50 pm

      That’s funny, Lavdim! I’m happy that you enjoyed this lesson!

  16. Cinthia Ferreira says

    April 14, 2016 at 8:13 am

    Hello, Melanie! I’m happy you’re here again. Thanks for these helpful tips.

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:47 pm

      No problem, Cinthia! I’m happy these tips are helpful!

  17. saciid says

    April 14, 2016 at 8:13 am

    nice! thank you for every

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:44 pm

      No problem, Saciid! I’m glad you liked the lesson!

  18. Jean says

    April 14, 2016 at 4:22 pm

    Helpful lesson. I usually prefer using ‘…slipped my mind’. Hope to hear from you soon, thank you indeed!

    • Melanie says

      April 14, 2016 at 6:43 pm

      Thank you, Jean! I’m happy to hear that this lesson was helpful to you!

  19. wida says

    April 15, 2016 at 1:39 am

    very good lesson…thank Melanie.

    • Melanie says

      April 15, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      You’re welcome, Wida! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

  20. Asela Kuruwita says

    April 16, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    Very useful and commonly used phrases.
    Thank you

    • Melanie says

      April 18, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      I’m happy to hear that, Asela! :)

  21. Ahmet says

    April 17, 2016 at 8:21 am

    Thank you , Melanie. You are the best. Phrases are very useful. I may lose my train of thought due to excitement, when the tourists want me to help. That case bugs me but I know how to phrase anymore and These phrases will serve my purpose and that It is on the tip of my tongue means ” dilimin ucunda” in Turkish… I am looking forward to seeing your new phrases.. take care of yourself…

    • Melanie says

      April 18, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      Thank you for your kind words, Ahmet! I’m happy to hear the phrases are useful to you. I love how many languages have the same expression “It’s on the tip of my tongue!” : )

  22. Time Xie says

    April 18, 2016 at 3:33 am

    there are very usefule phrases in common expression for me,thank you!

    • Melanie says

      April 18, 2016 at 3:52 pm

      That’s great to hear! Thank you!

  23. Daniel Vargas says

    April 19, 2016 at 10:36 am

    Hello Teacher Melanie thanks for your help. May God bless you for everything you do every day for us.

    Here are the traslations for these two sentences you sent:

    1) It went in one ear and out the other = “entra por un oido y sale por el otro”, but in my country you use this one when you give advise or you give an order to somebody and this person do no obey or do not t take your words into account…

    2) It’s on the tip of my tongue = “lo tengo en la punta de la lengua”

    Here is a new one:

    “Ahora que dices Burra me acordé de mi comadre” = Now that you say “jenny” I remembered my godmother. The difference is that you use this phrase when somebody says something that remembers you something you haven’t done as yet, something you forgot to do, but you had to do.

    I hope this is helpful, thanks.

    Daniel.

    • Melanie says

      April 22, 2016 at 1:46 pm

      This is fantastic, Daniel! Thank you for sharing these great Spanish expressions! I really like the last expression. I wish we had something similar in English. The only similar expression I can think of is “That reminds me, …” but the Spanish expression sounds better!

  24. dora says

    April 20, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    Thank you for your help with these phrases my students from Colombia love it.

    • Melanie says

      April 22, 2016 at 1:02 pm

      I’m so happy to hear that, Dora!

  25. Bontot says

    April 23, 2016 at 12:19 am

    I love those expressions because I’ve been looking for them and I found it. It indeed happens in my daily life as well. Thanks

    • Melanie says

      May 10, 2016 at 12:50 pm

      You’re welcome, Bontot! I am happy that you finally found what you were looking for!

  26. Maung Oo Than Shwe says

    May 7, 2016 at 11:30 pm

    Thank you this is wonderful phrase.

    • Melanie says

      May 10, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      Awesome! I’m glad this information is useful to you!

  27. Imron Tani says

    May 10, 2016 at 8:34 am

    Teacher Melanie…I love you…you are so smart!

    Come on…! come to Indonesia and teach us your language.

    • Melanie says

      May 10, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      You are so sweet! Thank you! :) I would love to visit Indonesia someday!

  28. eder says

    June 5, 2016 at 4:18 pm

    I forgot to say, Thank you!

  29. Tiago Gomes says

    June 8, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    Hi Melanei,

    Thanks for this useful lesson! Greats tip!

  30. Henk van Tilburg says

    June 21, 2016 at 9:03 am

    Dutch language: Ik heb een gat in mijn hoofd.

    ‘English’ : I’ve a gap in my head.

    • Melanie says

      June 26, 2016 at 6:41 pm

      That’s awesome! It sounds good even in English. :)

  31. Hasna says

    June 27, 2016 at 11:46 am

    Thank you teacher for this important lesson.
    Best regards.

  32. M. Angel says

    July 12, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    Thanks for this lesson Melanie, I’m Enjoyed it.

  33. Ibrahim says

    August 12, 2016 at 11:34 am

    I like these idioms expressions a lot which you have posted,thank you teacher

  34. Aminuddin says

    August 14, 2016 at 11:16 pm

    Thank you, it’ great

  35. Akshay Pathak says

    September 2, 2016 at 7:07 am

    Wow! What a lesson you have delivered.it will help me a lot and I hope I will not forget it.Thanks a lot

  36. Martha yim says

    September 5, 2016 at 9:03 am

    Thank you madam for the great lesson. I have learned a lot.

  37. José Roberto, Brazil says

    October 24, 2016 at 3:53 pm

    Dear Teacher, Melanie, thank you,

    At my country, Brazil, is very common people saying: “Deu um branco” like in English
    “I’m drawing a blank.”
    Use this phrase when you try, but you just can’t remember something, and your mind is blank or empty.

    Example: Don’t you remember, Leonardo? You talked to him the at the game last night.
    – I’m drawing a blank.

  38. Patrick says

    December 5, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    Hello Melanie,
    Thanks to your lesson I guess I know proper and good expressions to use when I’ll lost something. I was accustomed to this expression: I have forgotten.
    Is it wrong or right?
    Thanks one more time.

    Patrick

    • Melanie says

      December 5, 2016 at 6:53 pm

      Hi, Patrick! Welcome!

      You guess? Or now you know the expressions to use because of this lesson?

      “I have forgotten.” – What have you forgotten? This is not common in American English. If someone asks you about something, you can say “I forgot.”

      You can use “I have forgotten _______” if you just realized that you forgot something. For example, “Oh shoot. I’ve forgotten my wallet.” However, it is more common to hear “I forgot my wallet.”

  39. Anshul wrally says

    December 21, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    Really this was very helpful. ..I enjoyed these expressions .thank you MAM…..
    Mam if I want to ask more questions …how can ask you directly …

  40. Fabiano says

    February 12, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    Very useful lesson. Thanks.

  41. Madhushanka from Sri Lanka says

    February 19, 2017 at 10:10 am

    Great madam, I learn a lot from from your lessons. thanks a lot..May you live long !!!!

  42. Qamar says

    February 24, 2017 at 12:17 am

    Thanks teacher i like it

  43. Arpita says

    February 27, 2017 at 9:29 am

    Hello Teacher,
    Thank you for the wonderful lessons.
    Can we use “from” after slipped? For example: How can I forgot her birthday? It completely slipped from my mind?

    • Melanie says

      March 4, 2017 at 1:51 pm

      No, it’s a fixed expression. You can’t change it!

      Also, be careful with your question form:

      “How could I forget her birthday? It completely slipped my mind!”

  44. Roberto says

    March 8, 2017 at 6:11 am

    Oh yes, I hereby to thank you teacher for your unforgettable and constructive effort especially in this lesson about 7 useful English phrases to say when someone forgets something. I insist saying THANK YOU and never slip in your mind to send me the weekly lessons or novelty. Have a nice day teacher!

    • Melanie says

      March 8, 2017 at 12:42 pm

      Thank you for your kind words, Roberto! I am happy that you enjoyed the lesson. I think you wanted to say “slip your mind”! It’s a fixed expression. You can’t change it or add your own words to it! :)

  45. VAN V. says

    March 30, 2017 at 4:53 am

    I APPRECIATE VERY MUCH THIS lesson ‘cose you help teaching my TVET trainee
    In our language, if you forgot something you can say: “byanshanze!”/ “ntibiza vuba!”>that is Kinyarwanda l’ge

  46. Philippe says

    April 4, 2017 at 8:14 am

    Thanks for your lesson!
    In France we have a similar expression than Spanish one’s when we forgot to take some thing:
    Quand on n’a pas de tête, il faut avoir des jambes !
    By the way
    What do you propose when the “senior moment” become a “permanent senior moment” ?
    May be I got Alzheimer illness but I can’t remember !
    It’s the best to laugh
    My best
    Philippe

  47. Kaniz says

    May 9, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    Melanie mam this ate really simple and useful…..please can u give me tips about how to improve my english..because i have problems in many aspects…in grammer..vocabulary..speaking …etc

  48. Jaldine says

    July 12, 2017 at 10:56 am

    I used to say “I have forgotten” but I read it from your comment that it is not proper to use it, I won’t use it anymore. Thank you so much! The topic is so useful. God bless you more with more wisdom and blessings to continue in helping us speak grammatically correct English!

  49. Nui says

    November 24, 2017 at 12:44 am

    “It went in one ear and out the other.”
    Thai people say this” kkao hoo sai thaloo hoo khwa”
    Kao = go into
    Hoo = ear
    Sai = left( side)
    Hoo sai = left ear
    Khwa = right ( side)
    Taloo = (go) through

    Thank a lot for your lesson

    • Melanie says

      November 27, 2017 at 5:47 pm

      Thank you for teaching me Thai, Nui! It’s interesting that English and Thai have the same expression!

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