El ruido en la sala no me deja estudiar.

The noise in the living room doesn't let me study.

Breakdown of El ruido en la sala no me deja estudiar.

• en: in
• me: me
• estudiar: to study
• la sala: the living room
• dejar: to let
• no: not
• el ruido: the noise

Questions & Answers about El ruido en la sala no me deja estudiar.

What's the difference between using dejar and permitir in this context?

Both dejar and permitir convey the idea of allowing something, but dejar is more casual and commonly used in everyday speech. Permitir can sound a bit more formal or deliberate. In this sentence, no me deja feels natural because it simply states that the noise won’t let you study.

Why is sala used here instead of cuarto or habitación?

In many Latin American countries, sala specifically refers to a living room or a common area where people gather. Cuarto or habitación often refers to a bedroom or a more private room. Saying en la sala clarifies that the distracting noise is coming from a more public space.

Why do we use no me deja and not something like no me permite?

While permitir technically works, dejar is the more direct choice to mean "let." The idea here is that the noise “does not let you” study, which sounds natural and straightforward. Using permitir feels slightly more formal or polite, which doesn’t quite match casual contexts like noise in a room.

How come me is necessary here?

In Spanish, expressing who is being affected or prevented from doing something usually requires the indirect object pronoun. Here, no me deja literally means "it does not let me," emphasizing that I am the one who can't study.

Why is the verb estudiar in the infinitive form?

After verbs like dejar, hacer, mandar, and similar constructions, Spanish requires an infinitive for the second verb. So you say no me deja estudiar (it doesn’t let me study) rather than using a conjugated form like estudio or estudie.