Dejé el taburete junto al balcón para poner el cactus sobre el alféizar.

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Breakdown of Dejé el taburete junto al balcón para poner el cactus sobre el alféizar.

• para: to
• dejar: to leave
• poner: to put

Questions & Answers about Dejé el taburete junto al balcón para poner el cactus sobre el alféizar.

Why is it dejé and not dejaba or he dejado?

Dejé is the preterite form of dejar, used for a completed action in the past: I left / I placed.

In this sentence, the speaker is describing one finished action:

• Dejé el taburete... = I left/put the stool...

Why not the others?

• dejaba = imperfect, often used for repeated actions, background description, or something ongoing in the past
  
  • Dejaba el taburete junto al balcón cada mañana = I used to leave the stool next to the balcony every morning
• he dejado = present perfect, common in Spain for a recent past action connected to the present
  
  • He dejado el taburete junto al balcón = I’ve left the stool next to the balcony

So dejé simply tells you the action happened and is complete.

What exactly does dejar mean here?

Here dejar means something like to leave, to put, or to place and leave somewhere.

So:

• Dejé el taburete junto al balcón = I left / put the stool next to the balcony

It is not necessarily the same as just put in English. Dejar often suggests that you place something somewhere and it stays there.

Compare:

• Puse el taburete junto al balcón = I put the stool next to the balcony
• Dejé el taburete junto al balcón = I left the stool next to the balcony

Both can work, but dejar emphasizes the resulting position a bit more.