Dejar Conjugation 101: Conjugate Dejar In Spanish

Dejar is a common regular -AR verb. We use this verb to talk about leaving things behind, but also about quitting an activity. Here is a quick summary of what you’ll learn in this dejar conjugation guide:

• Dejar Overview 
• Indicative Tenses of Dejar Conjugations
  • Present tense
  • Preterite tense
  • Imperfect tense
  • Near Future tense
  • Future tense
  • Conditional tense
  • Present Perfect tense
  • Past Perfect tense
  • Future Perfect tense
  • Conditional Perfect tense
  • Progressive tenses
• Subjunctive Tenses of Dejar Conjugations 
  • Present Subjunctive tense
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive tense
  • Imperfect Subjunctive tense
  • Past Perfect Subjunctive tense
• Imperative (Commands) of Dejar Conjugations
  • Affirmative Commands
  • Negative Commands
• Uses & Examples
• Download Dejar Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets
• Dejar Conjugation Practice Quiz

Overview of Dejar

Dejar means ‘to leave’, ‘to quit’ or ‘to allow’. For simplicity, the conjugation charts in the sections below will only include one translation. You can learn more about the extra meanings in the section on Uses & Examples.

Indicative Conjugations of Dejar

Present tense

The present tense forms of dejar are used to explain that a person leaves something or someone in a certain place. For example: Siempre dejo las llaves en la mesa.

Preterite tense

The preterite conjugation of dejar communicates that a person left something somewhere or that someone quit doing something at a specific moment in the past. For instance: Mi papá dejó de trabajar hace dos años.

Imperfect tense

Dejar follows the conjugation pattern of -AR verbs in the imperfect tense. Use dejar in this tense to talk about things or people you used to leave or things you weren’t allowed to do in the past. For example: Mi mamá no nos dejaba comer chocolate.

Near future

Ir (present) + a + infinitive (in this case, ‘dejar’) is the formula to conjugate it to the near future. In this tense, ‘dejar’ communicates that you’re about to quit doing something or you’re about to leave something. ¿Vas a dejar el coche?

Future simple tense

Use the future simple of dejar to explain that you plan to leave something in a place or quit a habit at some point in the future. For example: Dejaré tu bolsa en el comedor.

Conditional tense

The conditional conjugations of dejar allow you to express that a person would leave something in a certain place. For example: Yo no dejaría mi celular aquí.

Present perfect tense

The Spanish present perfect tense conveys that someone has or hasn’t left a place. You can also use these conjugations to talk about actions you have or haven’t stopped doing. For example: No he dejado de comer desde que llegamos.

Past perfect

Dejar in the past perfect tense communicates that you left something or someone allowed you to do something before some other reference point in the past. Dijiste que habías dejado el carro en la casa. To form the past perfect, use the imperfect form of ‘haber’ and the past participle form of ‘dejar’.

Future perfect

The future perfect of ‘dejar’ communicates that you will have left something or stop doing an activity by or before a certain time in the future. These conjugations are also used to ask where a person might have left something. For instance: ¿Dónde habré dejado mi cartera?

Conditional perfect

Dejar conjugated to the conditional perfect conveys that a person would have left something or have allowed others to do an activity if a past condition had been met. For example: Si les hubieran dicho, mis primos habrían dejado su carro aquí.

Progressive tenses

The progressive tenses of dejar express that someone is leaving something in a certain place at the moment of speaking. Ahorita llego, estoy dejando a las niñas en la escuela.

Dejar Subjunctive Conjugations

In Spanish, the subjunctive tenses are used to talk about wishes, hypothetical situations or express uncertainty. The conjugation charts below show how to conjugate dejar to its subjunctive forms.

Present subjunctive

Dejar subjunctive conjugations are regular. Use ‘dejar’ in the present subjunctive to recommend, demand, or hope that someone leaves or stops doing something. For example: Les recomiendo que dejen de perder el tiempo.

Present perfect subjunctive

Haber in the present subjunctive + dejado is the formula to build the present perfect subjunctive of ‘dejar’. When using this tense, ‘dejar’ is used to express doubt about someone leaving something behind, giving permission to another person, or quitting an activity. 

No creo que sus papás la hayan dejado venir.

Imperfect subjunctive

Use the imperfect subjunctive conjugations of ‘dejar’ to refer to past suggestions, wishes or expectations you had about someone leaving something in a place. Te pedí que dejases las llaves en la mesa.

Latin American Spanish version

Note: The table above doesn’t include the conjugation for vosotros because this pronoun is not used in Latin American Spanish.

Castilian Spanish version

Past perfect subjunctive

The past perfect subjunctive of dejar communicates that someone would have left something or have stopped doing an activity if a past circumstance was met. You can also use these conjugations to express regrets or hypothetical results about being allowed to do something. 

For instance: ojalá me hubiera dejado ir a la fiesta.

Dejar Imperative Conjugations

The imperative is used to give commands in Spanish. In other words, it’s used to tell others what to do (affirmative imperative) and what not to do (negative imperative).

Affirmative commands

Use the affirmative commands of ‘dejar’ to instruct someone to leave something. For instance: Dejen eso en su lugar.

Negative commands

Dejar conjugated to the negative imperative is used to order someone to not leave something. For example: No dejes la puerta abierta.

Meanings of Dejar & Examples

Dejar is a verb with multiple and useful applications in Spanish. Below are some of the most common uses of this verb. Be aware that we’re using some of the different tenses we learned in the previous conjugation charts.

1. Talking about leaving something or someone

[Dejar conjugated] + [determiner] + [noun]

No dejes las llaves en el carro. 
Don’t leave the keys on the car. 

[Dejar conjugated] + a + [person]

Voy a dejar a las niñas con su abuela. 
I’m leaving the kids with their grandma. 

Take Note: If the context is clear, you can use direct object pronouns to replace the noun in your sentences. 

2. As a synonym of ‘stop doing something’

[Dejar conjugated] + de [infinitive verb]

¿Cuándo dejarás de decir mentiras?
When would you stop lying? 

En unas horas voy a dejar de trabajar. 
I am going to stop working in a few hours. 

3. Giving permission or allowing to do something

[Direct object pronoun] + [dejar conjugated] + [infinitive verb]

El ruido no me dejó dormir.  
The noise didn’t let me sleep.

Sus papás no la dejan tener novio. 
Her parents don’t allow her to have a boyfriend. 

Take Note: When talking about leaving something behind or allowing a person to do an activity, dejar is a transitive verb. Infinitive verbs and direct objects pronouns are used to complete the meaning of the sentence. 

Download Dejar Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

You can download the dejar conjugation cheat sheets PDF including all the tense charts, uses, and meanings for this verb to study at your convenience.

Download Conjugations PDF

Practice Quiz: Dejar Conjugation

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate dejar in Spanish, you can have fun while you study by taking the dejar conjugation practice quiz.