I can't believe I had forgotten that VS I can't believe I have forgotten that

[norae99]

Hello, teachers. I have a question. 1. What does "I can't believe I had forgotten that" mean? 2. Is there any difference between "I can't believe I had forgotten that" and "I can't believe I have forgotten that" in the paragraph below? ( I'm afraid that the enter key in my keyboard doesn't work. ) and thank you in advance. "Why Why don't you go down to the Sate Street Library? There are lots of books by Southern writers," I suggest. "Ma'am, you know black people aren't allowed in the library." I can't believe I had forgotten that.(I can't believe I have forgotten that.) The library is only for white people. There was even a protest by black people at the library a few years ago. "I'll pick up the books for you," I say.

 

[Tdol]

The difference is the time of forgetting- had forgotten works here for me because the person has now remembered. If they still couldn't remember, then have forgotten would work.