Breakdown of Una vez olvidé el pasaporte y perdí el vuelo, así que ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
Questions & Answers about Una vez olvidé el pasaporte y perdí el vuelo, así que ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
Because vez is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes the feminine article una.
- una vez = one time / once
- la vez = the time (as in “the occasion”)
You never say un vez, because vez is always feminine: la vez, una vez, cada vez, alguna vez, etc.
You can say una vez yo olvidé el pasaporte, but it is less natural.
In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo) is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject:
- (Yo) olvidé el pasaporte → olvidé already means I forgot.
If you include yo, it’s usually to emphasize I:
- Una vez yo olvidé el pasaporte… (implying I did, perhaps unlike others)
For a neutral, natural sentence, Una vez olvidé el pasaporte… is better.
All three can appear in Spain, but there are differences in formality and nuance:
Olvidé el pasaporte
- Literal: I forgot the passport.
- Structure: simple transitive verb (olvidar + direct object).
- Slightly more formal / direct. It can sound a bit more “active” or responsible.
Me olvidé del pasaporte
- Very common in Spain.
- Structure: olvidarse de + noun (pronominal verb).
- More colloquial, everyday speech.
- Emphasis on the fact that it slipped your mind:
- Una vez me olvidé del pasaporte…
Se me olvidó el pasaporte
- Also very natural in Spain.
- Structure: se me olvidó + noun (accidental/indirect construction).
- Often used to express that it happened unintentionally, almost like “the passport got forgotten by me”:
- Se me olvidó el pasaporte = It slipped my mind; I forgot (by accident).
All three can be used here, but in casual Peninsular Spanish, many people would naturally say:
- Una vez me olvidé del pasaporte y perdí el vuelo…
- Una vez se me olvidó el pasaporte y perdí el vuelo…
Spanish uses definite articles more than English does, especially with specific objects.
- Olvidé el pasaporte = I forgot the passport (the one we both know about → my passport in this situation).
- In English you say “forgot my passport”; in Spanish, using el often already implies my when the context is clear.
You could also say:
- Olvidé mi pasaporte = I forgot my passport.
Both are correct. El pasaporte sounds completely natural and is very common in Spanish when the specific item is obvious from context.
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is used for finished actions in the past, viewed as complete events:
- Una vez olvidé el pasaporte y perdí el vuelo…
= One time, I forgot the passport and missed the flight. (A specific, finished incident.)
In Spain, the present perfect (he olvidado, he perdido) is very common for recent past events linked to the present:
- Hoy he olvidado el pasaporte. (Today; the day isn’t over yet.)
- Esta semana he perdido dos vuelos.
Here, una vez introduces a story/episode in the past, like a narrative, so the preterite (olvidé, perdí) is the natural choice: it’s a completed past event, not being presented as “connected to now” in the grammatical sense.
All of these can exist, but they are used slightly differently:
Perder el vuelo
- Standard way to say to miss the flight.
- Very idiomatic: perder el vuelo = fail to catch it, arrive too late.
Perder mi vuelo
- Also possible, but less typical in this generic sentence.
- You’d use mi vuelo when you are distinguishing your specific booking from others:
- Perdí mi vuelo de Madrid, pero pude coger otro.
Perder el avión
- Also used colloquially, especially in Spain.
- Means essentially the same as perder el vuelo (miss the plane).
Note that in English you cannot say “I lost the flight” here; you must say I missed the flight. But Spanish uses perder for both lose and miss (transport).
Así que is a very common connector meaning so, therefore, or as a result. It introduces a consequence:
- …perdí el vuelo, así que ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
= “…I missed the flight, so now I’m very careful with my luggage.”
Rough comparison:
así que
- Very frequent in speech, neutral and natural.
- Strong sense of consequence: X happened, so Y happens.
por eso
- Literal: for that reason.
- Slightly more formal/directly causal:
- Perdí el vuelo, por eso ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
entonces
- Can mean then / in that case / so.
- A bit looser; often used to continue a story or draw a conclusion:
- Perdí el vuelo, entonces decidí cambiar de aerolínea.
In this sentence, así que is a perfect, very natural choice.
Because cuidar here is a transitive verb that takes a direct object:
- cuidar + algo/alguien = to take care of / look after something or someone
- Cuido mucho mi equipaje. = I take great care of my luggage.
me cuido mi equipaje
- Not idiomatic; it sounds wrong.
- cuidarse (reflexive) usually means to take care of oneself:
- Me cuido = I take care of myself.
- Me cuido la salud. (I look after my health.)
cuidar de mi equipaje
- cuidar de is also correct, but has a slightly more formal or literary feel in this context.
- It can sound more like “to be in charge of / have custody of”:
- El personal cuida de tu equipaje.
The most common everyday way to express this idea is:
- Ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
- Or with a pronoun later in context: Ahora lo cuido mucho.
In ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje, mucho is an adverb modifying the verb cuido:
- It tells you how much / to what degree the speaker takes care of the luggage.
- Equivalent to a lot / very much / very carefully in English.
Roughly:
- Cuido mi equipaje. = I take care of my luggage.
- Cuido mucho mi equipaje. = I take great care of my luggage / I’m very careful with my luggage.
So mucho here does not mean “many” (plural). It’s “a lot” as an adverb.
Because equipaje is usually treated as an uncountable or collective noun:
- el equipaje = the luggage (all your bags together as a unit).
Even if you have several suitcases, you normally say:
- Tengo mucho equipaje. = I have a lot of luggage.
- Han perdido mi equipaje. = They’ve lost my luggage.
You can say las maletas when you specifically mean suitcases:
- Cuido mucho mis maletas.
But mi equipaje is broader and more general (everything you’re traveling with: suitcases, bags, etc.). In this sentence, mi equipaje sounds very natural.
Yes, ahora is quite flexible, but some positions sound more natural:
Most natural options:
- Ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje.
- Cuido mucho mi equipaje ahora.
Less natural / more marked:
- Cuido ahora mucho mi equipaje. (possible, but sounds slightly stiff or “poetic”.)
- Cuido mucho ahora mi equipaje. (unusual; would need a special emphasis in speech.)
The version in the sentence, Ahora cuido mucho mi equipaje, is the most straightforward and idiomatic.
The accent marks show stress and help distinguish tenses and persons.
olvidé (with accent on the final é)
- Pronunciation: ol-vi-DÉ
- Form: 1st person singular, preterite (I forgot).
- Una vez olvidé el pasaporte…
olvide (without accent)
- Pronunciation: ol-VI-de
- Could be:
- present subjunctive, 1st or 3rd person singular:
- Espero que no olvide el pasaporte. (I hope I don’t forget / he-she doesn’t forget.)
- Or part of other tenses/structures.
- present subjunctive, 1st or 3rd person singular:
Similarly:
- perdí (with accent) = I lost / I missed (preterite, 1st person singular).
- Perdí el vuelo.
The written accents are essential to identify the correct tense and meaning, especially in the past.