Dejar: Full Conjugation

Dejar means "to leave (behind)," "to let," or "to allow." It's the verb you use for leaving things, leaving people, leaving places (in the sense of abandoning), and for permitting actions: déjame pensarlo — "let me think about it." With the preposition de, it means "to stop doing something": dejé de fumar — "I stopped smoking."

Dejar is a completely regular -ar verb. None of its forms are irregular in any tense or mood, which makes it easy to conjugate but easy to misuse if you don't know its many idiomatic patterns.

Present Indicative

Preterite

Imperfect

Future

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Imperative

Non-Finite Forms

• Infinitive: dejar
• Gerund: dejando
• Past participle: dejado

Compound Tenses

The compound tenses use haber plus the past participle dejado.

Present Perfect

Pluperfect

Future Perfect

Conditional Perfect

Present Perfect Subjunctive

Pluperfect Subjunctive

Progressive Forms

Progressive forms use estar with the gerund dejando.

Present Progressive

Past Progressive

Future Progressive

Common Collocations and Expressions

• dejar de + infinitive — to stop (doing)
• dejar en paz — to leave alone
• dejar mucho que desear — to leave a lot to be desired
• dejarse — to let oneself, to give up on oneself
• dejarse llevar — to get carried away
• dejar plantado a alguien — to stand someone up
• dejar atrás — to leave behind
• dejar caer — to drop (let fall)
• dejar saber — to let know
• dejar pasar — to let by, let pass
• no dejar de — to keep on, not stop
• dejar la puerta abierta — to leave the door open (literal & figurative)
• dejar mal a alguien — to make someone look bad
• dejar a alguien con la palabra en la boca — to walk away mid-conversation
• dejar en ridículo — to make a fool of (someone)

Common Errors (for English speakers)

• ❌ Dejo la oficina a las seis. (when you mean exiting) / ✅ Salgo de la oficina a las seis. — Use salir for leaving a place; dejar is for leaving things behind.
• ❌ Dejo fumar. / ✅ Dejo de fumar. — Don't forget the de in "to stop doing."
• ❌ Déjeme pensar. (informal context) / ✅ Déjame pensar. — Use the tú command in informal speech; déjeme is the formal usted.
• ❌ Dejé mi novia. / ✅ Dejé a mi novia. — Don't forget the personal a before specific people.
• ❌ Lo dejé hecho. (when you mean "I left him alone") / ⚠️ Lo dejé tranquilo. — Dejar hecho means "to leave (it) finished," not "to leave alone."
• ❌ No dejo que él vendría. / ✅ No dejé que viniera. — Dejar que triggers the subjunctive in the dependent clause.

Related Verbs

• salir — "to leave (a place)." Compare carefully.
• abandonar — "to abandon, leave for good."
• permitir — "to permit, allow." Synonym for one sense of dejar.
• soltar — "to let go of, release."
• olvidar — "to forget." Sometimes overlaps with leaving things behind.
• renunciar a — "to give up, renounce."

Cross-references

• Dejar vs. salir vs. irse
• Dejar de + infinitive
• Salir: full conjugation
• Llevar: full conjugation
• Pasar: full conjugation