dejar de + Infinitive

Stop Doing

Level 5

Use 'dejar de + infinitive' to say that someone stops or quits doing something.

How It Works

The structure dejar de + infinitive is essential for talking about ceasing an activity. It's a very common verbal periphrasis (a combination of verbs that acts as a single verb unit).

Structure:
Subject + [conjugated dejar] + de + [infinitive verb]

This pattern can be used in any tense or mood by conjugating the verb dejar:

  • Present: Dejo de trabajar a las cinco. (I stop working at five.)
  • Preterite: Ayer dejé de fumar. (Yesterday I quit smoking.)
  • Imperfect: Cuando vivía en la costa, nunca dejaba de ir a la playa. (When I lived on the coast, I never stopped going to the beach.)
  • Future: Dejaré de preocuparme tanto. (I will stop worrying so much.)
  • Conditional: Si me lo pidieras, dejaría de hacerlo. (If you asked me to, I would stop doing it.)
  • Subjunctive: Espero que dejes de hacer ruido. (I hope you stop making noise.)

Three Uses of No Dejar de
The negative can mean continuation: No deja de llover (It keeps raining). In a reminder, No dejes de avisarme means “Be sure to let me know” or “Do not fail to let me know.” It can also make a qualified assertion: No deja de ser interesante (It is interesting, all the same). Context distinguishes these readings; negation does not remove the ordinary “not stop” meaning.

Stopping Is Not Necessarily Finishing
Dejé de escribir la carta says I stopped writing it; it does not guarantee that I finished it. Compare Dejé de trabajar para comer: I stopped working in order to eat. The action after de is what stops; para introduces the purpose.

Examples (6)

  1. Dejó de llover hace una hora.

    It stopped raining an hour ago.

    Word by Word: It stopped of to rain ago one hour.

  2. Si quieres adelgazar, tienes que dejar de comer dulces.

    If you want to lose weight, you have to stop eating sweets.

    Word by Word: If you want to lose weight, you have to to stop of to eat sweets.

  3. Mi abuelo dejó de fumar por su salud.

    My grandfather quit smoking for his health.

    Here, 'dejó' is the preterite tense, indicating a completed action in the past.

  4. ¡Deja de quejarte y ayúdame!

    Stop complaining and help me!

    This is an example of an affirmative command using 'dejar'.

  5. No dejes de avisarme cuando llegues al aeropuerto.

    Be sure to let me know when you get to the airport.

    Word by Word: Not you stop of to notify me when you arrive to the airport.

    In this reminder, no dejes de means “be sure to” or “do not fail to.” In other contexts, no dejar de can mean continuing an action or making a qualified assertion.

  6. Espero que pronto dejen de construir al lado de mi casa.

    I hope they soon stop building next to my house.

    This example uses the present subjunctive 'dejen' after the expression of hope 'espero que'.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting de when the intended meaning is quitting smoking.

    Tengo que dejar fumar.
    Tengo que dejar de fumar.

    For quitting the activity, use dejar de fumar. Tengo que dejar fumar can instead mean that I have to allow smoking; it is grammatical with that different meaning.

  • Confusing 'dejar de' (to stop) with 'dejar' (to leave/let).

    Dejé de mis llaves en la mesa. (Intending to say 'I left my keys on the table.')
    Dejé mis llaves en la mesa.

    'Dejar de' is only used with an infinitive to mean 'stop doing'. To say you 'left' a physical object somewhere, you just use 'dejar' without 'de'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

dejar de + InfinitiveLevel 5Stop Doing

Learn This First

To use 'dejar de + infinitive', you need to know how to conjugate regular -ar verbs like 'dejar' and understand the structural role of the preposition 'de' in connecting a conjugated verb to an infinitive action.

Words in This Pattern

dejar