Breakdown of Lo que pasa es que no tengo internet y se me olvidó la cartera.
ser
to be
y
and
no
no, not
tener
to have
que
that / than
me
to me / me (direct object)
olvidar
to forget
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
se
(marker of an accidental/unintentional event)
pasar
to happen
el internet
the internet
la cartera
the wallet / the purse
Questions & Answers about Lo que pasa es que no tengo internet y se me olvidó la cartera.
Why do we use the indicative form tengo instead of subjunctive after lo que pasa es que?
Even though lo que pasa es que (the thing is...) might look like other phrases that trigger the subjunctive, it actually just introduces a statement of fact or a justification. Because you are declaring what is actually happening, it is followed by the normal indicative mood, like tengo and olvidó here.
Why does it say se me olvidó instead of just olvidé la cartera?
Se me olvidó uses the "accidental se" structure, which translates literally to something like "the wallet forgot itself to me." We use this structure a lot in Spanish to take the blame off ourselves for accidents, like forgetting, losing, or dropping things. You could say olvidé la cartera, but se me olvidó sounds much more natural for an honest mistake.
In se me olvidó, why is the verb olvidó in the "he/she/it" form if I forgot the wallet?
In the accidental se structure, the item forgotten is actually the grammatical subject of the sentence. Olvidó is singular because la cartera (the wallet) is singular. If you forgot your keys, the verb would change to match them: se me olvidaron las llaves. The me just tells us who was affected by this accidental "forgetting."
The English translation says "my wallet", but the Spanish uses la cartera (the wallet). Why not mi cartera?
In Spanish, when it is obvious from the context who the owner is, we usually use the definite article (el or la) instead of a possessive like mi. Because you used me in se me olvidó, the listener already knows it is your wallet. This is very common with everyday personal items, clothing, and body parts.
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