Mi padre quiere dejarse barba en invierno.

to want

Breakdown of Mi padre quiere dejarse barba en invierno.

• en: in
• mi: my
• el invierno: the winter

Questions & Answers about Mi padre quiere dejarse barba en invierno.

Why is there a se in dejarse?

Because dejarse is the natural Spanish way to say to let oneself grow something like a beard, hair, or moustache.

So:

• dejar = to leave, to let
• dejarse barba = to let oneself grow a beard

The se refers back to the subject, here mi padre. In English we usually do not say let himself grow a beard, but Spanish often does.

Compare:

• Mi padre quiere dejarse barba. = My father wants to grow a beard.
• Mi padre quiere dejar la barba. = This would mean something different, more like leave the beard.

So the se is important.

Why is dejarse attached to the end of quiere instead of coming before it?

In Spanish, when you have a conjugated verb plus an infinitive, object pronouns and reflexive pronouns can often go in two places:

• before the conjugated verb
• attached to the infinitive

So both of these are correct:

• Mi padre quiere dejarse barba.
• Mi padre se quiere dejar barba.

They mean the same thing.

Spanish often sounds very natural with the pronoun attached to the infinitive, especially in sentences like this.

Why is there no article before barba? Why not la barba?