Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Reciclar las hojas? No, dejen las hojas en el parque. - Recycle the leaves? No, leave the leaves in the park.

¿Reciclar las hojas? No, dejen las hojas en el parque.

Recycle the leaves? No, leave the leaves in the park.

Breakdown of ¿Reciclar las hojas? No, dejen las hojas en el parque.

to stop / to leave (something behind)

Questions & Answers about ¿Reciclar las hojas? No, dejen las hojas en el parque.

Why does dejen end in "-en" if the verb is dejar (an "-ar" verb)?

To give a command to a group (ustedes), you swap the typical vowel of the verb ending. For regular "-ar" verbs like dejar, the "a" changes to an "e", making the ending "-en". So, while dejan is the statement "you all leave", dejen is the command "leave!".

Why does the sentence start with the basic infinitive Reciclar instead of a conjugated verb?

Using the infinitive with question marks is a quick, natural way to ask for instructions or confirm a plan in Spanish. It translates perfectly to the English shorthand "Recycle the leaves?" but it also takes the place of longer sentences like "Should we recycle the leaves?".

Could I use salgan instead of dejen to give the command to "leave"?

No, because they mean different things. Salir means "to leave" in the sense of exiting or departing a place (like leaving the house). Dejar means "to leave" an object behind or put it somewhere, which is exactly what you are doing with las hojas (the leaves).

I learned that una hoja means a sheet of paper. Why is it used here in the park?

Hoja means a leaf on a plant or tree, and it is also used for a sheet of paper (similar to how we say a "leaf" of paper in English). Since the context here is el parque, it refers to tree leaves.