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'forget' vs 'forget about'


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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
In spite vs inspite of | Topic translation: As to the duty of pursuing equality, there is no such consent
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 1:14 am  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Molly wrote:
And what's the faint nuance here?

A: Thanks for your help.

B: Forget it/Forget about it.


"Forget it" means "forget the help"; "forget about it" means "forget that which relates to the help". The former is more immediate; the latter more circumstantial.

Though as I said before, both may be possible in a particular context.

MrP
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 10:30 am  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Quote:
"Forget it" means "forget the help"; "forget about it" means "forget that which relates to the help".

And how do you know that?

It may be this way: "it" relates to the help itself in both cases. Or, "forget it/forget about it" means "don't even think to thank me".

Tell me, what does "it" refer to here?

A: Thanks for your help.
B: Don't mention it.

-----------

A: Thanks for your help.
B: It was nothing.

------------

A: Thanks for your help.
B: It's no big deal.
Molly
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 11:59 am  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Molly wrote:
Quote:
1. And you can forget going to that party tonight, young man! I told you that if you didn't do your homework, I wouldn't let you go.
2. And you can forget about going to that party tonight, young man! I told you that if you didn't do your homework, I wouldn't let you go.

For me forgot doing smth. means that you did something and forgot it. (Comparing with forgot to do smth., not with forget about ) Smile
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 12:33 pm  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Quote:
For me forgot doing smth. means that you did something and forgot it. (Comparing with forgot to do smth., not with forget about )

Not always, Inga.

e.g.

1. If you don't have a ticket, you can forget getting in. It's sold out.

2. Aw, it's raining. I guess we can forget going anywhere else this evening.

3. And you can forget becomng an electrician, you can't even pass tenth grade math.

The question is: is "about" ellipted in those examples?
Molly
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 12:49 pm  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Wonderful examples! Sequence of tenses, or the flow of time is subtle, isn't it? Sometimes it doen't 100% depend on the physical stream but on how we imagine it.
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 19:48 pm  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Molly wrote:
It may be this way: "it" relates to the help itself in both cases. Or, "forget it/forget about it" mean "don't even think to thank me".

1. Thanks for your help!
2. Forget it.
3. There is no need to thank me.
4. Forget about it.
5. Forget the matter of my help.

The function of #2 in response to #1 may well be to express #3, in a particular context.

Its meaning however is "forget my help". (Which is an example of hyperbole, incidentally: we don't expect the addressee to make literal attempts to eradicate every thought of our help from his mind.)

#4 can also express #3. Its meaning is "forget the things concerning my help", i.e. (here) #5. "Forget about" therefore addresses the "help" in a slightly different way from "forget".

The difference between the two expressions increases in other contexts:

6. I forgot your mother.
— e.g. I forgot to bring your mother.

7. I forgot about your mother.
— i.e. the thing concerning your mother, e.g. I forgot that your mother was coming to stay.

MrP
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'forget' vs 'forget about' Tue May 27, 2008 20:11 pm  'forget' vs 'forget about'
 

Quote:
1. Thanks for your help!
2. Forget it.
3. There is no need to thank me.
4. Forget about it.
5. Forget the matter of my help.

The function of #2 in response to #1 may well be to express #3, in a particular context.

LOL! Well, you seem pretty sure of your READING, so I guess we'll leave you to it.
Molly
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In spite vs inspite of | Topic translation: As to the duty of pursuing equality, there is no such consent
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