Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Kazuhisa]

Hello.

Could you tell me the difference between the following two sentences?

1. "We shouldn't forget those people."
2. "We shouldn't forget about those people."

Thanks.

[redset]

They're very similar - adding about makes it more general, so that you're talking about something relating to the subject:

Don't forget your bag - you need to take your bag, don't leave it behind
Don't forget about your bag - there's something related to your bag that you need to remember (it needs cleaning/you need to collect it from your friend's house/it's here and you need to take it with you etc.)

In practice though many people use them interchangeably.

[Kazuhisa]

Thank you, redset!