Breakdown of Ese hombre deja de mentir y me dice la verdad.
de
from / of
y
and
ese
that (masculine)
el hombre
the man
la verdad
the truth
me
to me / me (direct object)
decir
to say, to tell
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
mentir
to lie
Questions & Answers about Ese hombre deja de mentir y me dice la verdad.
I thought dejar meant "to leave". Why does it mean "stops" here?
On its own, dejar usually means "to leave" or "to let". But when you use the phrase dejar de followed by an infinitive verb (like mentir), it changes meaning to "to stop doing" that action.
Why is it mentir (to lie) instead of a word ending in -iendo for "lying"?
In English, we say "stops lying" using an "-ing" word. However, in Spanish, after a preposition like de, you must always use the infinitive (the un conjugated dictionary form of the verb). So, dejar de mentir translates perfectly to "to stop lying".
Why is it Ese hombre and not Eso hombre?
Ese is the masculine singular word for "that" when it is used right before a masculine noun like hombre. You only use eso when you are talking about an abstract idea or an unknown thing (like "What is that?" -> ¿Qué es eso?), never right before a noun.
Why does me come before dice?
In Spanish, indirect object pronouns like me (to me) usually go right before the conjugated verb. So instead of putting it after the verb like in English, Spanish places it before as me dice.
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