Breakdown of ¡Dejen de usar el celular y dejen de patear mi asiento!
y
and
mi
my
usar
to use / to wear
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
el asiento
the seat
patear
to kick
el celular
the cell phone
Questions & Answers about ¡Dejen de usar el celular y dejen de patear mi asiento!
Why does the sentence use dejar de + infinitive (usar, patear) instead of an '-ing' word?
In Spanish, the phrase dejar de is used to mean "to stop doing something" or "to quit doing something." While English uses "stop" followed by an '-ing' word (like "using" or "kicking"), Spanish grammar requires you to use the infinitive (the base form of the verb, like usar and patear) after prepositions like de.
Who is the speaker addressing with the verb form dejen?
The speaker is addressing multiple people, like a couple of noisy passengers or kids in the back seat. Dejen is the ustedes (plural "you") command form of dejar. In Latin American Spanish, ustedes is used for all plural commands, regardless of whether you are speaking formally or informally.
Could I use the verb parar instead of dejar to tell them to stop?
Since they are talking to multiple people, why is it el celular (singular) and not los celulares?
In Spanish, it is very common to use a singular noun when referring to items that belong to multiple people, as long as each person only has one of that item. Saying el celular implies "your cell phones" (one per person), though it could also simply mean they are sharing a single phone. Using the plural los celulares wouldn't be wrong, but the singular is very natural here.
Learn ¡Dejen de usar el celular y dejen de patear mi asiento and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free