Breakdown of Como se me olvidó marcar, no dejé un mensaje en el buzón.
no
no, not
un
a, an (masculine)
en
in / on / at
el mensaje
the message
me
to me / me (direct object)
olvidar
to forget
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
como
since / because (at the beginning of a sentence)
se
(marker of an accidental/unintentional event)
marcar
to dial
el buzón
the voicemail
Questions & Answers about Como se me olvidó marcar, no dejé un mensaje en el buzón.
Why does the sentence start with Como? Doesn't that usually mean "how" or "like"?
Why use se me olvidó instead of just olvidé?
This uses the accidental or "no-fault" construction in Spanish. By saying se me olvidó (literally, "it forgot itself to me"), the speaker emphasizes that it was an accident, taking the direct blame off themselves. You could say olvidé marcar, but se me olvidó sounds much more natural for an honest mistake.
Why use dejé for "leave" instead of salí?
Does buzón mean "voicemail" or just a physical "mailbox"?
While the full phrase for voicemail is buzón de voz, it is very common to shorten it to just buzón when the context of a phone call is already clear. It works for both physical mailboxes and digital voicemails.
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