# I forgot / left my bag in a taxi



## Pitt

Hi,

I'd like to know if both sentences are correct and have the same meaning:

1. I forgot my bag in a taxi.
2. I left my bag in a taxi.

Thanks for helping me!


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## Thomas Tompion

I think 2 is a little more idiomatic, but plenty of people say 1.  I suppose people might claim that one might forget one's troubles in a taxi and that forgetting one's bag might have that same sense - one stopped thinking about the bag.  There's little real ground for misinterpretation.


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## Loob

Hi Pitt

I very much prefer (2).

I don't think (1) is idiomatic in English, although you could certainly say "I got out of the taxi and forgot my bag".


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## PewterTooth

Both sound fine to me.


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## Loob

I was beginning to think it was just me

Then I googled "forgot * in a taxi" and got 198,000 hits. Of which the number from UK pages was ... one.

Phew!


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## cuchuflete

As Lady Bracknall said, "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. ..."  I wonder who wrote the other
197999 "forgot * in a taxi" entries.  

UK residents do seem to leave lots of things in taxis.



Results 1 - 20 of about 71,100 for  "left * in a taxi". Region=UK
Results 1 - 20 of about 114,000 for  "left * in a taxi" site:.uk. 
Results 1 - 20 of about 298,000 for  "left * in a taxi"


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## sound shift

I don't hear (1) around me, and I use only (2).


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## mjscott

I say #1 quite often!
I'll get out to the car and say, "Oh, I forgot my keys in the house!"
I'll get in the car and say, "Oh, I forgot my purse in the front closet!"
I'll get to the cash register and say, "Oh, I forgot my wallet in the den!"
If only I had left my wallet and keys in my purse, I wouldn't forget them while last-minute Christmas shopping! (Dang, those online credit card purchases and kids borrowing the car when home for the holidays!)


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## sound shift

That's not quite the same, mj, because it omits "in a taxi".

I too say "I have forgotten my keys" (end of sentence) but if I want to say where, I use "left": "I left my keys in a taxi".


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## AngelEyes

If I did that, I'd be really peeved and might even use both.

"Oh, ****. I forgot and left my purse/bag in the taxi!"

This is not good English, but it would feel good to say it.

*AngelEyes*


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## panjandrum

There seems to be a trans-Atlantic difference involved here.
BE does not, now, say _I forgot my bag in a taxi_ or _I forgot my keys at home_.
*I forgot it at home*


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## se16teddy

panjandrum said:


> There seems to be a trans-Atlantic difference involved here.


I agree, but I think the exact difference is a tricky one, and I can't quite pin it down. Over here we commonly say things like _I've forgotten my note-book_ implying that I intended to bring it with me but left it at home. The position is complicated by differences in the use of the present perfect: over here, you wouldn't normally say _I left my bag in a taxi _unless it was long ago: if you are still missing the bag you usually say _I've left my bag in a taxi. _


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## cuchuflete

Google results notwithstanding, I think the AE/BE distinction, while real, is small.

Let's go back to the beginning:

1. I forgot my bag in a taxi.
2. I left my bag in a taxi.

I can't imagine saying #1, nor do I recall hearing it.  It's not wrong in any way, but it's also not much used in AE to describe leaving something in a taxi.  


The Google searches included wild cards:  *

A search for the exact sentence yields this-

Results *1* - *1* of *1* for * "I forgot my bag in a taxi."*.

That is a link to this thread.

Of the few results for the alternate, Results *1* - *9* of *9* for * "I left my bag in a taxi.",
*some point to this thread, some are in Japanese.


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## Loob

Teddy, I think sound shift explains the difference neatly in post 9.

Both sides of the Atlantic say "forget" in the sense of "leave behind inadvertently".

But if the place where the item was left is stated, BrE uses "leave" not "forget".  AmE appears to allow both.


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## cuchuflete

Playing with variations on the leaving behind theme, to allow for other vehicles and locations, I find that BE speakers don't leave so many things behind.  Beyond that, I have no interpretation.



> Results 1 - 20 of about 121,000 for  "left my * at the airport".
> Results 1 - 7 of 7 for  "left my * at the airport" site:.uk.
> 
> Results 1 - 20 of about 38,400 for  "forgot my * at the airport".
> Results 1 - 3 of 3 for  "forgot my * at the airport" site:.uk.
> 
> Results 1 - 6 of 6 for  "forgot my * in the airport"
> Your search - "forgot my * in the airport" site:.uk - did not match any documents.
> 
> Results 1 - 20 of about 128,000 for  "left my * in the airport" .
> Results 1 - 2 of 2 for  "left my * in the airport" site:.uk.
> 
> Results 1 - 20 of about 137,000 for  "left my * on the train" .
> Results 1 - 20 of about 4,770 for  "left my * on the train" site:.uk.
> 
> Results 1 - 20 of about 154,000 for  "left my * on the bus".
> Results 1 - 20 of about 4,670 for  "left my * on the bus" site:.uk.


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## Loob

Are there any AmE-speaking foreros out there who would themselves *say* "I forgot my bag in a taxi"  - not just feel that they might hear it?


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## buttle

I left my bag in the taxi


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## PMS-CC

Loob said:


> Are there any AmE-speaking foreros out there who would themselves *say* "I forgot my bag in a taxi" - not just feel that they might hear it?


 
I would say "I forgot my bag."

I would say "I left my bag in a taxi."

I would say "I forgot I had my bag with me, and I left it in the taxi."

Even though I think the sentence is perfectly clear in meaning, I would never say "I forgot my bag in a taxi." 

I think other posters have a better handle on the reasons for why I wouldn't be inclined to say it that way; I left my grammatical motivations in a taxi.


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## Dimcl

I would most definitely use #1.  To me, "forgot" and "left" mean entirely different things and I'd never use one for the other.  If, for example, the taxi got me to my destination, I fumbled in my wallet for cash, paid the cabbie, grabbed my bags, slammed the door and walked to my hotel, only to discover my bag missing, I would _always_ use #1. 

If, however, I was a spy and had a secret file in my bag for delivery to another spy, I would use #2.

One is inadvertent and the other is deliberate.  There is no question that I would use #1.


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## Loob

OK, she says, extremely cautiously...

So Canadian English distinguishes between "I [inadvertently] forgot X in a taxi" and "I [deliberately] left X in a taxi".

Do others agree?


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## Esca

Loob said:


> OK, she says, extremely cautiously...
> 
> So Canadian English distinguishes between "I [inadvertently] forgot X in a taxi" and "I [deliberately] left X in a taxi".
> 
> Do others agree?



Hmmm, I'm slightly wary as well.
I would most likely use "I left my bag in the taxi" or, even more likely, "I _accidentally_ left my bag in the taxi."


To me, "*I forgot X*" means "I didn't remember to bring X along with me," as in, you never had it with you in the first place.  You left it at your point of origin.

"*I left X*," however, means to me that it stayed behind somewhere, whether at my point of origin or at some point along my subsequent path.

Intent has little to no bearing in my discrimination.


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## PMS-CC

I asked my significant other how they'd make the statement, avoiding leading questions. 

The first response: _I left my bag behind in a taxi_.

Then I asked: "What about 'I forgot my bag in a taxi?'"

The response: "Oh sure! That works."

My S.O. is more of an AmE speaker than I am, as I have more Canadians in my family. Does that help the analysis or only muddle it?


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## AngelEyes

I'd be very careful in attempting to say that most Americans wouldn't say, "I forgot my __________ in the taxi."

It's an off-the-cuff, idiomatic, not-even-thinking-at-the-time way of expressing oneself. And it's not hard to believe - in my world - that lots of Americans would say it this way.

That doesn't mean that, on their best behavior, those very same Americans would also say it the way Brits would consider the "proper" way to say it.

Reverance for words and "the right way" is not written in stone in some American circles. I'd even venture to say "most" Americans are very fluid in their modes of speaking.

I'm starting to believe that BE is taken much more seriously and in a very structured way for some.

*AngelEyes*


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## Loob

I'm still confused.

I see that Dimcl would say "I forgot my bag in a taxi".

Would other AmE-speaking foreros also say this?

Afternote: I see that mjscott has edited his post 8 to make it clear that he would.


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## Dimcl

Loob said:


> I'm still confused.
> 
> I see that Dimcl would say "I forgot my bag in a taxi".
> 
> Would other AmE-speaking foreros also say this?


 

I must admit to being absolutely stumped over this thread. To me, saying "I forgot my bag in xyz" would be so perfectly natural that saying otherwise wouldn't occur to me. What's the difference between saying "I forgot my bag" (and meaning that "You left it at your point of origin", as Esca said) and "I forgot my bag in a taxi"? It _was_ with me and the cab was the point of origin at the time and I _forgot_ to take it with me when I left the cab.

I can't tell you how many times I've flown, landed at my destination, got into the terminal to await my luggage, reached into my carry-on luggage for a read while I wait and said "Damn, I forgot my magazine on the plane".

The use of "forgot" precludes anyone's thought that I might have left the magazine on the plane for the next person sitting in that seat (which I've also done and which would cause me to say "I've left my magazine on the plane").


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## cuchuflete

I've probably left as many magazines on planes as our respected colleague, Dimcl.  I don't misunderstand or disagree with his logic.  I wouldn't find it natural to express the thought as he would.

Maybe an excess of googling, for which I'll share the blame with Loob, has led some folks to overlook this statement from a prior post:



> A search for the exact sentence yields this-
> 
> Results *1* - *1* of *1* for * "I forgot my bag in a taxi."*.
> 
> That is a link to this thread.




Would the average AE speaker easily understand that to mean that the bag had been left, inadvertantly, in the cab?  Sure. Is Google the be all and end all for capturing recorded speech?  Of course not.  Yet, this thread excepted, there is not a single instance of the construction in question.   I think we can take that as a fair indication that it's not a common expression for either BE or AE or CanE speakers.  ​


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## Loob

So what do we advise Pitt?

In the light of the debate, I would say: 

_use "I left my bag in a taxi"; _
_don't use "I forgot my bag in a taxi";_
_be aware that others may use different patterns._


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## Orange Blossom

Here's my two cents worth:

I would say: _I left my bag in the taxi._

I would NOT say: _I forgot my bag in the taxi_.

I would say:  _I forgot my bag was in the taxi. _I would say this if I arrived somewhere, didn't have my bag and finally realized that I had taken with me when I left home, but then forgot I had done so and left it in the taxi, maybe under the seat or in the trunk.

Orange Blossom


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## kuleshov

I'm a Spanish speaker and, at least in Spain. all learners of English are taught that when you mention the place where you accidentally leave something behind you cannot use forget but leave. I've never been told why, but it is a typical rule taught in language schools, and in my perception most Spanish learners of English are aware of it.

Cheers.


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## damecaliente

U.S english.
In my experience Americans sometimes say "i forgot my bag in a taxi" where english people say "i left my bag in a taxi"
as in the R.E.M song "nightswimming"  "i forgot my shirt at the water's edge." which puzzled me at first because to the english it sounds really ungrammatical. So to agree with Loob, you can be aware that some U.S english speakers will say it but it might sound like you've made a mistake if a non-native english speaker says it.
Hope that is ok it's my first post so haven't read all the rules yet!


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## courtney w

Loob said:


> OK, she says, extremely cautiously...
> 
> So Canadian English distinguishes between "I [inadvertently] forgot X in a taxi" and "I [deliberately] left X in a taxi".
> 
> Do others agree?


 
yes, I agree! "Left", to me, seems deliberate, "forgot" inadvertent. But maybe thats just a Canadian thing? i'm not sure!


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## cuchuflete

kuleshov said:


> I'm a Spanish speaker and, at least in Spain. all learners of English are taught that when you mention the place where you accidentally leave something behind you cannot use forget but leave. I've never been told why, but it is a typical rule taught in language schools, and in my perception most Spanish learners of English are aware of it.



Good point.  It has been discussed at length before in the forums.  There are some fine posts in this thread:  http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=4184347
I forgot it at home


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## Natalisha

As far as I understand the phrase "I forgot _something somewhere_" is rarely if ever heard in Britain, but it is rather idiomatic in the USA and Canada. 
My question is mostly addressed to those foreros who consider that it would be wrong to use _forgot_ when the place is mentioned. 



sound shift said:


> That's not quite the same, mj, because it omits "in a taxi".
> 
> I too say "I have forgotten my keys" (end of sentence) but if I want to say where, I use "left": "I left my keys in a taxi".



I wonder if it is possible to say "Who has forgotten the umbrella?" meaning "Who has left the umbrella?" 
(I consider the place is implied "Who has forgotten the umbrella _here_?")


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## jsharm

_<-----Threads merged at this point by moderator (Florentia52)----->_

The following sentences are fine:

I left my phone in the car.
I forgot my phone - I left it in the car.

But...

I forgot my phone in the car.

This kind of construction has become more common here in recent years. I'm not a prescriptivist, but still, it grates on me. Does it grate on you?


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## dojibear

Yes, it grates me. But I understand the meaning.


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## DonnyB

I wouldn't say it _grates_ on me, but I do think it sounds a little bit odd, and I personally wouldn't say it.


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## srk

It doesn't grate on me at all.  "It grates me" does grate on me.


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## Esca

It doesn't bother me at all, and I hear and say it frequently.


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## jsharm

Loob said:


> Welcome, jsharm.
> 
> There's a previous thread here:
> I forgot / left my bag in a taxi



Sorry, Loob, still getting a handle on the forum and didn't search previous threads fully - have done that now, found the question's already been dealt with, will be more thorough in future searches.


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## Angela Thomas

It rather bugs me when it's written, I'm not sure I'd notice it in conversation. Is this a generational or cultural divide or even written versus conversational irking?


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## PaulQ

It works for me.

I forgot [to pick up] my phone - I left it in the car.


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## RM1(SS)

Loob said:


> Are there any AmE-speaking foreros out there who would themselves *say* "I forgot my bag in a taxi"  - not just feel that they might hear it?


I wouldn't.  "I forgot my bag" or "I left my bag in the cab."



srk said:


> It doesn't grate on me at all.  "It grates me" does grate on me.


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## Fredziu

*More recent discussion added to previous thread. 
Cagey, moderator *

Hello everyone,

Does the following sentence sound correct?

_Cheryl's dad felt annoyed when his wife forgot something in the car.
_
When they were in the shop, it turned out that the wife had left the shopping list in the car and her husband had to go and get it.
Is it OK to use the verb 'forget' in this meaning or should the sentence look like this?

_A) Cheryl's dad felt annoyed when his wife forgot to bring something from the car.

or

B) Cheryl's dad felt annoyed when his wife forgot something from the car._


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## Barque

Fredziu said:


> Cheryl's dad felt annoyed when his wife forgot something in the car.


This sentence would sound clearer if you used "because" instead of "when".


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## Fredziu

Barque said:


> This sentence would sound clearer if you used "because" instead of "when".



I agree. I just copied it straight from the book. But what I'm not sure about is the use of the verb 'forget' in this sentence.


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## Barque

It sounds fine to me.
His wife forgot something in the car = His wife forgot to take something with her when she got out of the car.


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## Franco-filly

To me, "forgot something in the car" sounds as though she could not remember an item that was in the car.
I would say "..annoyed because his wife left something in the car" or, similar to your A, or "annoyed because his wife forgot to bring something that was in / from the car." or "his wife forgot remembered that she had left something in the car"

*edited following Barque's correction in post #50


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## Fredziu

Thank you, Franco-filly!


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## Enquiring Mind

In the given context, "forgot something in the car" is ok. There are lots of hits for this on Google.  I think I would probably say "left" though.


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## Barque

Franco-filly said:


> or "forgot that she had left something in the car"


I don't think you meant that. If she'd forgotten that she'd left something in the car, she couldn't have told her husband that she'd left it behind, and her husband wouldn't have had any reason to be annoyed.


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## Lun-14

Here's an extensive thread on this topic:
< I forgot / left my bag in a taxi >

Some native speakers (especially the British) don't seem to regard the construction "forget something in a place" as idiomatic English.
*

Threads merged.  Thank you.  Cagey, moderator *


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## Myridon

Barque said:


> I don't think you meant that. If she'd forgotten that she'd left something in the car, she couldn't have told her husband that she'd left it behind, and her husband wouldn't have had any reason to be annoyed.


In American English, this is how we often express the idea: "I left something in the car accidentally due to forgetfulness."


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## Barque

The part you've quoted was my reply to Franco-filly's suggestion that the OP's sentence could be worded with "forgot that she had left something in the car". I was pointing out that leaving something in the car due to forgetfulness is different from forgetting that you had left something behind.


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## Franco-filly

Barque said:


> The part you've quoted was my reply to Franco-filly's suggestion that the OP's sentence could be worded with "forgot that she had left something in the car". I was pointing out that leaving something in the car due to forgetfulness is different from forgetting that you had left something behind.


Thank you Barque, I have corrected my post <#47> now.  I should have said "remembered" not "forgot"


< Edited after merge to update post #.  Cagey, moderator >


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## Ali Smith

Someone told me the correct American idiom is “I left my bag in a taxi.”, and that “I forgot my bag in a taxi.” is a loan translation from Hindi-Urdu.


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## Steven David

Pitt said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'd like to know if both sentences are correct and have the same meaning:
> 
> 1. I forgot my bag in a taxi.
> 2. I left my bag in a taxi.
> 
> Thanks for helping me!



Both are correct.

If you left your bag in the taxi, then it means that you probably forgot it there. However, just leaving your bag in the taxi does not, in and of itself, mean that you forgot it there. You could have left it there on purpose. In the world of espionage, or even drug dealing, someone could leave a bag in a taxi on purpose. 

Exact words count.


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