“Forgot” vs “Forget”

Question

Is the following correct, or is there more to it?

"I forgot his name" — I knew his name, but I forgot it.

"I forget his name" — I keep forgetting his name. Where using "forget" basically means that you tried to remember this information before as well, but you couldn't then either.

Answer 1

I forgot his name

means that at some time past, I no longer remembered his name, but leaves open whether I can currently remember it.

I forget his name

can be construed in a couple of different ways:

• I forgot his name and I still can't remember it (but I hope you know who I'm talking about even so).
• I keep on forgetting his name.

Both are valid; the context might disambiguate between the two.

Answer 2

You're more or less right. I would however make a slight change to the second definition:

"I forget his name" - I do not remember his name at the moment - it's slipped my mind, but may come back to me soon/at some point. Alternatively, it is idiomatically equivalent to "I forgot his name".

Answer 3

Supplementing, not supplanting Jonathan Leffler's good answer: I've forgotten his name is a less ambiguous and thus IMO better way of saying "I forgot his name and still don't remember it", and is often what people mean when they say I forgot his name (substituting the past for the past perfect as people often do).

Answer 4

I forgot his name

means I've permanently forgotten, while

I forget his name

means I've temporarily forgotten even though I expect to be able to remember. In a few more minutes I'll probably remember. See also the phrases "slipped my mind" or "the tip of my tongue".