Learn Spanish (Spain): Dejé el paquete en el mostrador para la empleada. - I left the package on the counter for the employee.

Dejé comes from the regular -ar verb dejar (to leave an object). The ending -é tells us two things: it is in the Preterite tense (a completed action in the past), and the person doing the action is 'I' (yo). It is crucial to include the accent mark both for spelling and pronunciation!

Does dejar mean 'to leave' a place, like leaving the office?

No, dejar means 'to leave' an item somewhere, or to leave someone alone. If you want to say you left a physical place (like leaving the office or house), you would use the verb salir.

The English translation says 'on the counter,' but the Spanish uses en. Doesn't en mean 'in'?

En is a very flexible word in Spanish that can mean 'in,' 'on,' or 'at' depending on the context. While you could say sobre el mostrador (literally 'upon the counter'), en el mostrador is the most common and natural way to say something is resting on a surface.

Why do we use para instead of por to say 'for the employee'?

Choosing between por and para is a common challenge! Here, we use para because it introduces the recipient or intended destination of the package. Think of para as an arrow pointing to who is finally getting the item.