Breakdown of Ustedes dejan de mentir y empiezan a quejarse.
de
from / of
y
and
ustedes
you (plural)
a
to
empezar
to start / to begin
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
mentir
to lie
quejarse
to complain
Questions & Answers about Ustedes dejan de mentir y empiezan a quejarse.
Why is there a de in dejan de mentir?
The phrase dejar de followed by an infinitive (like mentir) is a set expression that means "to stop doing something." Without the de, the verb dejar on its own usually means "to leave" or "to let/allow."
The English translation says "lying." Why doesn't the Spanish use the "-ing" form (mintiendo)?
In Spanish, whenever a verb directly follows a preposition (like de or a), it must be in its infinitive form (ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). English says "stop lying," but Spanish uses the infinitive: dejar de mentir (literally "stop of to lie").
Why does empiezan use a instead of de?
Many Spanish verbs require a specific preposition before another action, and these just have to be memorized. While dejar uses de to mean "stop doing," empezar (to start) always uses a before an infinitive.
Why does quejarse end in se if the subject is ustedes?
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