The verb to forget · Conjugation
Past Perfect of forget
The answer: had forgotten
B2
A past action that happened before another past action.
Quick answer
The Past Perfect of the verb to forget is had forgotten.
Example: She had already forgotten the password when I arrived.
Full conjugation in the Past Perfect
| Pronoun | Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | had forgotten | I'd forgotten |
| You | had forgotten | You'd forgotten |
| He / She / It | had forgotten | He'd / She'd / It'd forgotten |
| We | had forgotten | We'd forgotten |
| You (pl.) | had forgotten | You'd forgotten |
| They | had forgotten | They'd forgotten |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. I had forgot ❌
After had, use the past participle, not the Past Simple: I had forgotten. The Past Simple of forget is forgot, and the past participle is forgotten.
2. Yesterday I had gone to the cinema ❌
Use the Past Perfect only for the earlier of two past actions. For one past action, the Past Simple is enough: Yesterday I went to the cinema. With forget: forgot for one action, had forgotten for the action that came first.
3. 'd + past participle = had
'd can mean had or would. Look at the next word. 'd + past participle = had: I'd forgotten = I had forgotten. 'd + base form = would: I'd forget = I would forget.
Practice quiz
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Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate forget in the Past Perfect?+
Use had + the past participle forgotten. The form is the same for every person: I had forgotten, she had forgotten, they had forgotten. The short form is 'd: I'd forgotten.
When do you use the Past Perfect of forget?+
Use it for an action that happened before another action in the past. It shows which action came first: When we arrived, the film had already started. The film started first, and then we arrived. Signal words: before, after, already, by the time.
What is the past participle of forget?+
The past participle of forget is forgotten. You use it after have, has and had. It is different from the Past Simple. Learn the three forms together: forget, forgot, forgotten.
What is the difference between had forgotten and have forgotten?+
Have forgotten (Present Perfect) connects the past to now. Had forgotten (Past Perfect) connects an earlier past to a later past. Compare: I have finished my homework (so I can play now) and I had finished my homework before dinner.
How do you make the negative and the question of forget in the Past Perfect?+
Negative: I hadn't forgotten (had not). Question: put had before the subject: Had you forgotten…? The past participle does not change.
Related pages: forget Past Perfect
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/forget/past-perfect
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.
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More forms of the verb to forget are coming soon.