Spanish has another closed list of verbs that demand the preposition de before a following infinitive: acabo de llegar, dejé de fumar, trata de entenderlo, me alegro de verte. Like the a-taking verbs, these are lexical pairings — you cannot predict from the meaning alone which preposition a verb selects. But the verbs that take de cluster around a small number of semantic ideas: completion and cessation, memory and forgetting, trying, and emotion about a fact. Internalise the clusters and the individual verbs follow more easily.
The semantic clusters
| Cluster | Verbs | Intuition |
|---|---|---|
| Completion / cessation | acabar de, terminar de, dejar de, parar de, cesar de | An action stops or has just stopped happening. |
| Memory and forgetting | acordarse de, olvidarse de | Holding a future or past action in mind, or losing it. |
| Trying and undertaking | tratar de, encargarse de, ocuparse de | Taking an action on as a task or attempt. |
| Emotion about a fact | alegrarse de, arrepentirse de, quejarse de, presumir de | Reacting emotionally to an action one has done or witnessed. |
There is a faint logic here: de in Spanish often signals origin or source ("from"). Many of these verbs implicitly ask from what: I stop from doing, I remember (the act of) doing, I'm happy from / about doing. The connection is not airtight, but it is enough to help the verbs stick.
Cluster one: completion and cessation
This is the most frequent and most important cluster. Three constructions sit at the heart of spoken Spanish.
Acabar de + infinitive: have just done
Acabo de llegar a casa, dame cinco minutos.
I just got home — give me five minutes.
Acababa de salir de la ducha cuando sonó el timbre.
I had just got out of the shower when the doorbell rang.
Acabamos de comer, no nos apetece postre todavía.
We've just finished eating — we don't fancy dessert yet.
Acabar de + infinitive is the standard Spanish way to express English's "have just done X." It works only in the present (acabo de = "I have just") and the imperfect (acababa de = "I had just"). In other tenses, acabar de shifts to mean "finish doing": Acabé de cenar a las once — "I finished eating dinner at eleven." This split between tenses is one of the trickier nuances in Spanish; learners often try to put acabar de into the preterite or future for "I have just" meanings and it doesn't work.
Dejar de + infinitive: stop doing
Dejé de fumar hace tres años y desde entonces respiro mejor.
I quit smoking three years ago and I've breathed better ever since.
No deja de llover, llevamos así toda la semana.
It won't stop raining — it's been like this all week.
No dejes de avisarme cuando llegues.
Don't forget to let me know when you arrive.
Two things to notice. First, no deja de + infinitive ("doesn't stop doing X") is a fixed pattern meaning "keeps on doing" — no deja de hablar = "she keeps on talking." Second, the imperative no dejes de + infinitive is the standard Spanish way to say "make sure you do X" — literally "don't stop yourself from doing it." This idiomatic use is everywhere in everyday speech.
Terminar de and parar de: finish, stop
Cuando termines de leer el libro, déjamelo.
When you finish reading the book, lend it to me.
¡Para de gritar de una vez, vas a despertar al bebé!
Stop shouting already — you're going to wake the baby!
No paro de pensar en lo que me dijiste ayer.
I can't stop thinking about what you told me yesterday.
Terminar de and parar de overlap with dejar de but with subtle differences. Terminar de emphasises completion ("finish doing"). Parar de emphasises interruption ("stop in the middle of doing"). Dejar de is the broadest and most flexible. Cesar de is a more formal synonym, mostly in writing.
Cluster two: memory and forgetting
¿Te acuerdas de aquel verano en Asturias?
Do you remember that summer in Asturias?
Me olvidé de llamar a mi madre por su cumpleaños.
I forgot to call my mother on her birthday.
Acuérdate de comprar leche al volver.
Remember to buy milk on your way back.
Both acordarse de and olvidarse de are pronominal verbs — they always carry a reflexive pronoun (me acuerdo, te acuerdas, se olvida). The preposition de is obligatory, and what follows can be either a noun (me acuerdo de ti) or an infinitive (me acuerdo de habértelo dicho).
The non-pronominal forms exist too. Recordar and olvidar take a bare infinitive, with no de:
Recuerda apagar la luz al salir.
Remember to turn off the light when you leave.
Olvidé apagar la luz.
I forgot to turn off the light.
Two grammars for the same meaning, then. In peninsular Spanish, the pronominal versions (acordarse de, olvidarse de) are slightly more frequent in everyday speech, while the non-pronominal versions (recordar, olvidar) feel a touch more formal or written. Both are fully correct — but watch the preposition: recordar takes no de, acordarse requires de.
Compound infinitives with memory verbs
Me acuerdo de haberlo visto en algún sitio.
I remember having seen him somewhere.
No me arrepiento de haber tomado esa decisión.
I don't regret having made that decision.
When the remembered or regretted event lies in the past, Spanish uses the compound infinitive haber + past participle. English would use having done or that I did; Spanish puts it cleanly into the infinitive system.
Cluster three: trying and undertaking
Tratar de + infinitive: try to
Trata de dormir un poco, mañana hay que madrugar.
Try to sleep a little — we have to get up early tomorrow.
Llevo media hora tratando de abrir este bote.
I've been trying to open this jar for half an hour.
Tratar de is one of the most useful verbs at B1, but it splits with intentar — which takes a bare infinitive (see the previous page). Both mean "try to," and they are largely interchangeable. Intentar dormir and tratar de dormir both work. Spanish gives you two synonyms with two different syntactic frames, which is annoying but unavoidable.
- infinitive (no preposition). Tratar de
- infinitive (with de). Same meaning, different scaffolding. Drill them together so the preposition (or its absence) is automatic.
Encargarse de / ocuparse de + infinitive: take charge of doing
Yo me encargo de hacer la reserva si tú compras las entradas.
I'll take care of making the booking if you buy the tickets.
Mi hermana se ocupa de cuidar a mi madre.
My sister takes care of looking after my mother.
Both verbs mean take responsibility for. Encargarse de is slightly more transactional ("I'll handle X"); ocuparse de is broader and applies to ongoing care. In peninsular Spanish, both are everyday.
Cluster four: emotion about a fact
These verbs express how someone feels about an action having happened or being the case.
Me alegro mucho de verte después de tanto tiempo.
I'm so glad to see you after such a long time.
Me arrepiento de haberle dicho eso, fue cruel.
I regret saying that to him — it was cruel.
Se queja de no tener tiempo para nada.
She complains about not having time for anything.
Presume de hablar cinco idiomas, pero la verdad es que sólo habla dos bien.
He brags about speaking five languages, but the truth is he only speaks two well.
Notice that the construction is same-subject: the de-clause infinitive shares a subject with the main verb. When the subjects differ, Spanish switches to de que + indicative or subjunctive:
Me alegro de que estés aquí.
I'm glad you're here.
Me arrepiento de haberle dicho eso.
I regret having said that to him. (same subject — infinitive)
Me arrepiento de que se haya enterado.
I regret that he found out. (different subject — que + subjunctive)
The pattern mirrors what we saw with quiero / quiero que. Same subject → infinitive with the verb's required preposition. Different subject → que + a conjugated verb, with the preposition still attached: de que, a que, en que.
Haber de + infinitive: a literary obligation
A reference page on de-verbs would be incomplete without flagging this construction, even though most learners will produce it rarely. Haber de + infinitive is a literary or formal way to express obligation, roughly equivalent to deber or tener que.
Has de saber que todo tiene un precio. (literary)
You should know that everything has a price.
Hemos de presentar el informe antes del viernes. (formal)
We are to submit the report before Friday.
In modern peninsular Spanish, haber de is heard in formal writing, in legal language, and in deliberately archaic or proverbial speech. In conversation, tengo que estudiar and debo estudiar are vastly more common than he de estudiar. Recognise it; don't overuse it.
A reference list
| Verb + de | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| acabar de | have just done (in present / imperfect) | Acabo de llegar. |
| terminar de | finish doing | Termino de comer y salgo. |
| dejar de | stop doing / quit | Dejé de fumar. |
| parar de | stop doing | No paro de pensarlo. |
| cesar de | cease doing (formal) | No cesa de llover. |
| tratar de | try to | Trato de entenderlo. |
| encargarse de | take charge of | Me encargo de organizarlo. |
| ocuparse de | look after / take care of | Se ocupa de cuidarla. |
| acordarse de | remember to / remember doing | Me acuerdo de verle. |
| olvidarse de | forget to / forget doing | Me olvidé de llamar. |
| alegrarse de | be glad to / about | Me alegro de verte. |
| arrepentirse de | regret doing | Me arrepiento de haberlo dicho. |
| quejarse de | complain about | Se queja de trabajar tanto. |
| presumir de | boast about | Presume de ser rico. |
| haber de | to be to / must (literary) | Has de saber que… |
| tener ganas de | feel like | Tengo ganas de salir. |
| dejar de + neg. | (no dejes de) "don't fail to" | No dejes de avisarme. |
The English-speaker trap: gerund vs infinitive after de
Several of these verbs have English equivalents that take an -ing form: stop smoking, finish reading, regret saying, remember meeting. The Spanish equivalent is always an infinitive (or, for past reference, a compound infinitive), never a gerund.
❌ Dejé de fumando.
Wrong — preposition + gerund is ungrammatical in Spanish.
✅ Dejé de fumar.
I quit smoking.
❌ Me arrepiento de diciendo eso.
Wrong — gerund cannot follow de.
✅ Me arrepiento de haber dicho eso.
I regret having said that.
The infinitive is the only verb form Spanish allows after a preposition. (See Infinitivo después de preposición for the broader rule.) Inside the verb + de + infinitive construction, the same iron rule applies.
Common Mistakes
❌ Acabo llegar a casa.
Wrong — acabar requires de before the infinitive.
✅ Acabo de llegar a casa.
I've just got home.
❌ Dejé fumar hace tres años.
Wrong — dejar requires de in this construction.
✅ Dejé de fumar hace tres años.
I quit smoking three years ago.
❌ Me olvidé llamar a mi madre.
Wrong — olvidarse requires de.
✅ Me olvidé de llamar a mi madre. (or: Olvidé llamar a mi madre.)
I forgot to call my mother.
❌ Me alegro verte.
Wrong — alegrarse requires de.
✅ Me alegro de verte.
I'm glad to see you.
❌ Trato entenderlo, pero no puedo.
Wrong — tratar requires de. (Intentar takes a bare infinitive.)
✅ Trato de entenderlo, pero no puedo.
I'm trying to understand it, but I can't.
Key takeaways
- A specific list of Spanish verbs requires de before a following infinitive. The preposition is part of the verb's lexical entry.
- The verbs cluster into four semantic groups: completion / cessation, memory / forgetting, trying / undertaking, and emotion about a fact.
- Acabar de
- infinitive in the present or imperfect = English "have / had just done." In other tenses it means "finish doing."
- Same-subject constructions use the infinitive; different-subject constructions switch to de que
- indicative or subjunctive.
- Some verbs have non-pronominal twins with different syntax: recordar vs acordarse de, olvidar vs olvidarse de, intentar vs tratar de.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Infinitivo después de verbos conjugadosA2 — When two verbs share a subject, the second one stays in the infinitive — quiero ir, puedo venir, suelo madrugar — never que, never a conjugated form.
- Verbos seguidos de 'a' + infinitivoB1 — Verbs that lexically require 'a' before an infinitive — empezar a, aprender a, ayudar a, atreverse a — usually involve motion, initiation, learning or commitment toward an action.
- Verbos seguidos de 'en' + infinitivoB2 — A small but high-frequency set of verbs takes 'en' before an infinitive — insistir en, pensar en, tardar en, consistir en — clustered around focus, duration, and absorbing one's attention into an action.
- Verbos con preposición 'de'B1 — A large family of Spanish verbs lexically selects 'de' — acordarse de, olvidarse de, alegrarse de, dejar de + infinitive, tratar de, enamorarse de — clustered around memory, emotion, cessation, source, and topic.
- Errores: traducciones literalesB1 — The constituent words map but the construction doesn't. 'I'm good' (no, thanks) is NOT 'estoy bueno'. 'My name is Juan' is more naturally 'me llamo Juan'. The high-frequency calque traps for English speakers in everyday peninsular Spanish.