Nada más llegar a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.

In this sentence, nada más + infinitive means as soon as or right after doing something.

So nada más llegar a casa means as soon as I get home.

Literally, nada más often means nothing more, but in this structure it works as a time expression, not with its literal meaning.

Because after nada más in this pattern, Spanish normally uses an infinitive:

• Nada más llegar...
• Nada más entrar...
• Nada más terminar...

This is a fixed and very common structure.

It is different from saying:

• En cuanto llego a casa...
• Cuando llego a casa...

Those use a conjugated verb. But with nada más, the infinitive is the usual choice in this kind of sentence.

The subject is understood from the main clause.

In Nada más llegar a casa, dejo el llavero..., the verb dejo tells us the subject is I, so we naturally understand llegar as when I arrive.

This is very common in Spanish: an infinitive phrase often has an implied subject that matches the subject of the main verb.

So the sentence means:

• As soon as I get home, I leave the keychain / keys on the little table in the hall.

The present tense here usually expresses a habit or something someone normally does.

So dejo means something like:

• I leave
• I usually leave
• I put down

It is not necessarily happening right now at this exact moment. It often describes a routine:

• Nada más llegar a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.
• As soon as I get home, I leave my keys on the hall table.

If you wanted a one-time past action, you would use a past tense, for example:

• Nada más llegar a casa, dejé el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.

Because Spanish often omits subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• dejo already means I leave
• dejas means you leave
• deja means he/she leaves

So yo is not necessary unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Yo dejo el llavero ahí, pero tú lo dejas en la cocina.

There, yo and tú are used for contrast.

Spanish often uses casa without an article when it means home in a general, personal sense.

So:

• llegar a casa = to get home
• volver a casa = to go back home
• estar en casa = to be at home

But la casa is used when you mean the house as a specific building:

• Llegué a la casa de Ana.
• I arrived at Ana’s house.

So in your sentence, a casa means home, not just to the house.

Llavero most commonly means keychain, key ring, or something holding the keys together.

Depending on context, English might translate it more naturally as:

• keychain
• keys
• key ring

In everyday speech, people may not always make a big distinction in translation. If someone says:

• Dejo el llavero en la mesilla

they may mean they leave the keychain with the keys on the table.

Both verbs can sometimes work, but they are not exactly the same.

• dejar = to leave, to put down, to leave something somewhere
• poner = to put, to place

In this sentence, dejar feels very natural because it suggests a routine action of leaving something in its usual place when arriving home.

So:

• dejo el llavero en la mesilla = I leave the keys/keychain on the little table

If you said pongo el llavero en la mesilla, it would still be understandable, but it focuses more on the act of placing it there, while dejar sounds more natural for this everyday habit.

Mesilla is a small table or little table.

It is a diminutive form related to mesa, so it suggests something smaller and often more informal or specific in use.

In this sentence, la mesilla del recibidor is the small table in the entrance area or hall.

A learner may also see mesita, which also means small table. The exact preference can vary by region and context. In Spain, mesilla is very common.

So:

• mesa = table
• mesilla / mesita = small table

del is the contraction of:

• de + el = del

So:

• la mesilla del recibidor = the little table of the hall / in the entrance hall

recibidor is the entrance area of a home: the hall, entryway, or foyer.

You normally must contract de + el into del:

• el libro del profesor
• la puerta del coche
• la mesilla del recibidor

The only main exception is when El is part of a proper name, such as El Salvador.

Because Nada más llegar a casa is an introductory time phrase placed before the main clause.

The comma helps separate:

• the time expression: Nada más llegar a casa
• the main action: dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor

This is very natural in writing. It works like English sentences such as:

• As soon as I get home, I leave my keys on the hall table.

In very informal writing, people may sometimes omit commas, but the comma is standard and helpful here.

Yes. Spanish has several natural ways to express the same idea. For example:

• En cuanto llego a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.
• Al llegar a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.
• Cuando llego a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.

The differences are small:

• nada más + infinitive = very close to as soon as
• en cuanto = as soon as
• al + infinitive = upon / when
• cuando = when

Your original sentence is very natural and idiomatic.

Yes, to some extent.

The original order is very natural:

• Nada más llegar a casa, dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor.

But Spanish can move parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Dejo el llavero en la mesilla del recibidor nada más llegar a casa.

This is also correct, but the original version sounds slightly more elegant and clearly highlights the time sequence first.

So both are possible, but the version with the time phrase at the beginning is especially common.