Word
Dejé un recado en el buzón para mi vecino.
Meaning
I left a message in the mailbox for my neighbor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Dejé un recado en el buzón para mi vecino.
What verb form is dejé, and what is its infinitive?
Dejé is the first-person singular (yo) of the pretérito indefinido (simple past) of the verb dejar.
- Infinitive: dejar = to leave, to leave behind, to leave a message, to let/allow
- Dejé = I left (at a specific point in the past)
So Dejé un recado… means I left a message…
Why does dejé have an accent, and what difference does it make?
The accent mark in dejé shows both stress and tense/person:
- dejé (with accent): stress on the last syllable (je), yo form of the preterite → I left
- deje (without accent) is usually:
- present subjunctive (yo/él/ella/usted), or
- imperative (usted): leave…!
So the accent distinguishes past indicative (I left) from subjunctive/imperative forms (that I leave, that he leave, leave (usted)). In your sentence you must write Dejé with an accent.
Could the sentence start with Deje un recado… without an accent?