Verbs + De + Infinitive

A second major group of Spanish verbs links to an infinitive through the preposition de. These verbs often express stopping, trying, finishing, remembering, forgetting, or various emotional reactions. Like the verbs that take a, the de is a fixed grammatical connector and usually does not translate as "of" or "from."

The basic pattern

The structure is always conjugated verb + de + infinitive:

Trata de estudiar más.

Try to study more.

Dejé de fumar hace un año.

I quit smoking a year ago.

Common verbs that take de

Below is the core list. Many of these are very frequent and well worth memorizing as fixed pairs.

VerbMeaningExample
dejar deto stop, to quitDejé de comer carne.
tratar deto try toTrato de llegar a tiempo.
acabar deto have just (done)Acabo de llegar.
terminar deto finish (doing)Terminé de estudiar.
olvidarse deto forget toMe olvidé de llamarte.
acordarse deto remember toAcuérdate de cerrar la puerta.
alegrarse deto be glad toMe alegro de verte.
cansarse deto get tired ofMe cansé de esperar.
arrepentirse deto regretSe arrepintió de decirlo.
encargarse deto take charge ofMe encargo de cocinar.
quejarse deto complain aboutSe queja de trabajar tanto.
dejar deto fail to / stopNo dejes de avisarme.

Acabar de: the "just did" construction

Acabar de + infinitive is one of the most useful phrases in the language. It means "to have just + (past participle)" in English — something that happened very recently.

Acabo de hablar con ella.

I just spoke with her.

El bus acaba de salir.

The bus just left.

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Acabar de is normally used only in the present or imperfect. Acabo de llegar = "I just arrived." Acababa de llegar cuando sonó el teléfono = "I had just arrived when the phone rang."

Dejar de vs. terminar de

These two verbs both involve an action ending, but they're not interchangeable.

  • Dejar de = to stop or quit doing something (not necessarily because it's finished).
  • Terminar de = to finish doing something (the action is completed).

Dejé de estudiar porque estaba cansado.

I stopped studying because I was tired.

Terminé de leer el libro anoche.

I finished reading the book last night.

Reflexive verbs in this group

Notice how many verbs in this group are reflexive: olvidarse de, acordarse de, alegrarse de, cansarse de, arrepentirse de, quejarse de. When you use them, remember to include the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, se) along with the de.

Siempre me olvido de apagar la luz.

I always forget to turn off the light.

Nos alegramos de tenerte aquí.

We're glad to have you here.

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The reflexive olvidarse de is the most common way to say "to forget (to do)" in Latin American speech. Non-reflexive olvidar + infinitive also exists but is less common and has a slightly more formal feel: Olvidé llamarlo.

Building them into sentences

Because de-verbs often describe the end, attempt, or emotion about an action, they frequently pair with everyday topics: quitting a habit, finishing a task, trying one more time, remembering or forgetting something.

Trató de ayudar pero no pudo.

He tried to help but couldn't.

See also the verbs that take a, en, or con / por.

Related Topics

  • The Infinitive: OverviewA1 — The infinitive is the base, uninflected form of a Spanish verb, ending in -ar, -er, or -ir.
  • Verbs + A + InfinitiveB1 — A key group of Spanish verbs requires the preposition a before the following infinitive.
  • Verbs + En + InfinitiveB1 — A smaller group of Spanish verbs is followed by the preposition en before an infinitive.
  • Verbs + Con/Por + InfinitiveB1 — Some Spanish verbs require con or por before an infinitive, often expressing relying, dreaming, threatening, or starting/ending with an action.