Deixar + infinitive means allowing an event to happen or not preventing it: Deixa'm entrar “Let me in.” The construction may involve deliberate permission, passive noninterference, or an uncontrolled result such as deixar caure “let fall; drop.” Add de, however, and the meaning changes: deixar de + infinitive means stopping or failing to do something, while no deixar de + infinitive can mean continuing or making sure to do it.
The basic permission pattern
The finite verb deixar agrees with the person who allows or does not prevent the event. The infinitive names what another participant does. In the present indicative, the working paradigm is:
| Person | Present | With entrar |
|---|---|---|
| jo | deixo | et deixo entrar |
| tu | deixes | em deixes entrar |
| ell / ella / vostè | deixa | ens deixa entrar |
| nosaltres | deixem | us deixem entrar |
| vosaltres | deixeu | els deixeu entrar |
| ells / elles / vostès | deixen | la deixen entrar |
The spelling deixo/deixes/deixa/deixen has ix, whereas deixem/deixeu have x. Stress follows the ordinary conjugation. The infinitive does not agree: entrar remains entrar regardless of who enters.
Els propietaris ens deixen fer servir el pati fins a les deu.
The owners let us use the courtyard until ten.
No deixo que els nens facin servir la tauleta durant els àpats.
I don't let the children use the tablet during meals.
The second sentence uses a finite que + subjunctive clause. It is often chosen when the subordinate subject is a full noun phrase, when the speaker wants the two clauses to remain explicit, or when the infinitival chain would be hard to process. With a weak pronoun, No els deixo fer servir la tauleta is equally natural.
Permission, nonprevention, and uncontrolled results
English let suggests permission, but Catalan deixar also covers simply not intervening. Context identifies whether the causer actively authorizes the action or merely allows it to happen.
Si vol explicar-se, deixa'l parlar fins al final.
If he wants to explain himself, let him speak to the end.
Vaig deixar cremar la ceba mentre contestava un missatge.
I let the onion burn while I was answering a message.
No deixeu escapar el gat quan obriu la porta del balcó.
Don't let the cat escape when you open the balcony door.
In vaig deixar cremar la ceba, nobody grants the onion permission; the speaker failed to prevent the result. With certain infinitives, deixar + infinitive forms a compact lexical unit: deixar caure “drop/let fall,” deixar anar “let go; release,” deixar passar “let pass; overlook.”
Nerviosa, va deixar caure les claus a l'entrada.
Nervous, she dropped the keys in the entrance.
Deixar is not fer
Both verbs can introduce an infinitive, but they reverse the causer’s role. Fer + infinitive brings the event about; deixar + infinitive removes an obstacle or refrains from stopping it.
| Construction | Causer's role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| fer entrar | cause or require entry | La directora els va fer entrar. |
| deixar entrar | permit entry | La directora els va deixar entrar. |
El metge em va fer esperar al passadís, però em va deixar trucar a casa.
The doctor made me wait in the corridor but let me call home.
English speakers sometimes treat make and let as if the choice were only lexical. In Catalan, it changes who controls the event: coercion or causation with fer, permission or nonprevention with deixar. For the first construction, see causative fer plus infinitive.
Deixar de + infinitive: stopping or omission
The preposition de creates a different construction. In an affirmative clause, deixar de + infinitive normally marks cessation: an activity or state held before the reference point and then stopped.
Va deixar de fumar quan va néixer la seva filla.
He stopped smoking when his daughter was born.
A les onze, la màquina va deixar de fer aquell soroll.
At eleven, the machine stopped making that noise.
In a perfect tense, the result remains relevant: Ha deixat de ploure means the rain has stopped. In the imperfect, the sentence can describe a repeated or background transition: Quan sortia el sol, deixava de tremolar.
The same construction can describe an omission, especially with a negative or hypothetical context: Si deixes de presentar un document, l'expedient quedarà incomplet “If you fail to submit a document...” Here the context favors “fail/omit” rather than “stop,” because there need not be an earlier repeated activity.
Per un descuit, vaig deixar d'adjuntar el rebut al correu.
Through an oversight, I failed to attach the receipt to the email.
The form before a vowel is d': deixar d'anar, deixar d'escriure. The apostrophe is obligatory.
No deixar de: continuation or an emphatic reminder
Negating cessation logically yields continuation: no deixar de + infinitive can mean “not stop doing; keep doing.” With an imperative or future-oriented context, it often becomes an emphatic reminder equivalent to “be sure to.”
Tot i les crítiques, l'equip no ha deixat de treballar en el projecte.
Despite the criticism, the team has not stopped working on the project.
Quan arribis a Girona, no deixis de visitar el Call.
When you get to Girona, be sure to visit the Jewish Quarter.
The second sentence does not literally imply that the listener is already visiting the place. The negative cessation construction has developed a pragmatic reading: do not omit this worthwhile action. It is neutral to mildly emphatic, common in recommendations and (formal) correspondence as well as conversation.
Weak pronouns and who does what
In the permission construction, the participant who carries out the infinitive commonly appears as a weak pronoun before finite deixar: em deixa entrar, el deixen parlar, no ens van deixar sortir. With an affirmative imperative, the pronoun attaches with a hyphen: deixa'm, deixa'l, deixeu-nos. Negative imperatives put it before the verb: no em deixis; no els deixeu.
Deixeu-nos acabar la frase abans de respondre.
Let us finish the sentence before answering.
No la deixis conduir si està tan cansada.
Don't let her drive if she's that tired.
An object belonging to the infinitive may either climb before the finite verb or remain attached to the infinitive, depending on the structure and information flow: No m'ho deixa explicar / No em deixa explicar-ho. Avoid piling up an unclear cluster when a finite que clause would be clearer.
La decisió, no me la van deixar explicar a la reunió.
They didn't let me explain the decision at the meeting.
In deixar de + infinitive, clitic climbing is also possible: Ho ha deixat de fer / Ha deixat de fer-ho. The placement changes rhythm and focus, not the basic cessation meaning. Review weak-pronoun placement for cluster order.
Tense, mood, and assertion
Only deixar is finite, so it carries tense and mood: deixo parlar, vaig deixar parlar, deixaria parlar, vol que deixem parlar. A subjunctive form does not arise merely because another verb follows. It is selected by the higher clause’s meaning.
Dubto que ens deixin ajornar la visita una altra vegada.
I doubt they'll let us postpone the visit again.
The speaker does not assert that permission will be granted, so deixin is subjunctive. The infinitive ajornar remains nonfinite.
Mini-dialogue
—Em deixes agafar la teva bicicleta aquesta tarda? —Sí, però no la deixis fora durant la nit.
—Will you let me take your bicycle this afternoon? —Yes, but don't leave it outside overnight.
—I si comença a ploure? —Deixa de pedalar i espera'm sota el pont.
—And if it starts raining? —Stop pedaling and wait for me under the bridge.
The first answer contrasts causative deixar + infinitive with lexical deixar “leave.” The second uses deixar de for cessation.
Regional and register notes
These constructions are standard across Catalan varieties. Regional verb morphology may give different subjunctive or imperative forms, but deixar + bare infinitive and deixar de + infinitive remain distinct. In very (formal) writing, permetre que + subjunctive can replace permission deixar, and cessar de can replace cessation deixar de in specialized contexts. Neither is inherently more correct; deixar is the neutral everyday verb.
Common Mistakes
❌ La mare em deixa de sortir fins a les onze.
Incorrect for permission — de changes the meaning to stopping or failing.
✅ La mare em deixa sortir fins a les onze.
My mother lets me stay out until eleven.
❌ He deixat fumar fa dos anys.
Incorrect for cessation — stopping requires deixar de.
✅ Vaig deixar de fumar fa dos anys.
I stopped smoking two years ago.
❌ No deixa els nens que entrin.
Awkwardly mixes the infinitival and finite patterns.
✅ No deixa que els nens entrin.
She doesn't let the children come in.
❌ No deixa'm acabar.
Incorrect negative imperative placement — the weak pronoun goes before the verb.
✅ No em deixis acabar tan tard.
Don't let me finish so late.
❌ El professor ens va fer consultar els apunts durant l'examen.
Wrong verb if permission, not compulsion, is intended.
✅ El professor ens va deixar consultar els apunts durant l'examen.
The teacher let us consult our notes during the exam.
Key Takeaways
- Deixar + bare infinitive expresses permission or nonprevention; fer + infinitive expresses causation or compulsion.
- Deixar de + infinitive marks stopping and, in context, omission or failure to act.
- No deixar de may mean continuing or “be sure to” in recommendations.
- The finite form of deixar carries tense, mood, person, and number; the following infinitive is unchanged.
- Weak pronouns normally precede finite deixar, attach to affirmative imperatives, and may climb from the infinitive when the resulting cluster is clear.
Now practice Catalan
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Fer plus InfinitiveB1 — Build Catalan causatives with fer plus a bare infinitive, marking the person made to act as a direct or indirect object according to the infinitive's transitivity.
- Infinitives after Modal and Control VerbsA2 — Combine poder, voler, saber, intentar, decidir, and prometre with an infinitive, and identify who performs the infinitive's action.
- Pronoun Placement Across Verb FormsB1 — Place weak pronouns before finite verbs, after infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, and correctly across verb phrases.
- Clitic Climbing with Verb PeriphrasesB2 — Choose where a Catalan weak pronoun can stand in modal, obligative, progressive, and closely integrated verb phrases.
- Weak Pronouns with Affirmative CommandsA2 — Learn where Catalan weak pronouns go in affirmative commands and how hyphens, apostrophes, stress, and pronoun clusters work.
- Conjugation of deixarA2 — Complete contemporary conjugation of deixar for leaving, allowing, lending, stopping, and accidentally leaving possessions behind.