Dejar + De + Infinitive (Stop Doing)

The construction dejar + de + infinitive means "to stop doing something" or "to quit doing something". It's the standard way in Latin American Spanish to express that an action has ceased—either by choice or by circumstance.

On its own, dejar means "to leave" or "to let", but in this periphrastic structure it combines with de + infinitive to signal discontinuation.

Formation

Conjugate dejar (a regular -ar verb) in any tense, add de, and follow with an infinitive.

SubjectDejar (present)
  • de + Infinitive
yodejodejo de fumar
túdejasdejas de fumar
él/ella/usteddejadeja de fumar
nosotrosdejamosdejamos de fumar
ustedes/ellosdejandejan de fumar

Dejé de fumar hace tres años.

I quit smoking three years ago.

¡Deja de hablar, por favor!

Please stop talking!

Command Forms

Dejar de is extremely common in the imperative, whether affirmative or negative.

Dejen de pelear los dos.

Both of you stop fighting.

No dejes de escribirme cuando llegues.

Don't stop writing to me when you arrive.

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The negative command no dejes de + infinitive is idiomatic and means "make sure to..." or "don't forget to...". No dejes de llamarme literally means "don't stop calling me", but in practice it's "make sure to call me".

In the Preterite vs. Imperfect

The preterite marks a completed, decisive cessation. The imperfect describes a gradual or ongoing process of stopping.

Dejó de llover a las cuatro de la tarde.

It stopped raining at four in the afternoon.

Poco a poco dejaba de sentir dolor.

Little by little, she was ceasing to feel pain.

Common Uses

Some collocations are especially frequent:

  • dejar de fumar — to quit smoking
  • dejar de beber — to quit drinking
  • dejar de estudiar — to stop studying (or drop out)
  • dejar de trabajar — to stop working (or retire)
  • dejar de llover — to stop raining
  • dejar de ser — to cease to be

Cuando dejó de trabajar, se dedicó a viajar por el mundo.

When he stopped working, he devoted himself to traveling the world.

Dejar de + Infinitive vs. Dejar + Infinitive

These two structures look similar but mean completely different things:

StructureMeaningExample
dejar de + infinitiveto stop doing somethingDejé de estudiar.
dejar + infinitiveto let/allow someone do somethingMe dejó estudiar.

Sus padres lo dejaron salir con sus amigos.

His parents let him go out with his friends.

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The little preposition de makes all the difference. Dejé de comer means "I stopped eating", while Me dejó comer means "He let me eat". Missing or adding de completely changes the meaning.

Negative Form

A negated dejar de creates a double negative that means "to keep doing something":

No dejo de pensar en ti.

I can't stop thinking about you.

This idiomatic use is very common in songs, literature, and emotional speech. It captures the feeling of being unable to quit an action.

For the opposite idea—starting an action—see empezar a + infinitive or ponerse a + infinitive.

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