dejar — Spanish conjugation

to leave

Frequency#22RegularReflexivedejarse — to let oneself

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodejoI leave
dejasyou leave
vosdejásyou leave
él/ella/Ud.dejahe/she/it leaves
nosotrosdejamoswe leave
vosotrosdejáisyou (pl.) leave
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejanthey leave

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodejéI left
dejasteyou left
vosdejasteyou left
él/ella/Ud.dejóhe/she/it left
nosotrosdejamoswe left
vosotrosdejasteisyou (pl.) left
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejaronthey left

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yodejaba
dejabas
vosdejabas
él/ella/Ud.dejaba
nosotrosdejábamos
vosotrosdejabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodejaríaI would leave
dejaríasyou would leave
vosdejaríasyou would leave
él/ella/Ud.dejaríahe/she/it would leave
nosotrosdejaríamoswe would leave
vosotrosdejaríaisyou (pl.) would leave
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejaríanthey would leave

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodejaréI will leave
dejarásyou will leave
vosdejarásyou will leave
él/ella/Ud.dejaráhe/she/it will leave
nosotrosdejaremoswe will leave
vosotrosdejaréisyou (pl.) will leave
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejaránthey will leave

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe dejadoI have left
has dejadoyou have left
voshas dejadoyou have left
él/ella/Ud.ha dejadohe/she/it has left
nosotroshemos dejadowe have left
vosotroshabéis dejadoyou (pl.) have left
ellos/ellas/Uds.han dejadothey have left

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía dejadoI had left
habías dejadoyou had left
voshabías dejadoyou had left
él/ella/Ud.había dejadohe/she/it had left
nosotroshabíamos dejadowe had left
vosotroshabíais dejadoyou (pl.) had left
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían dejadothey had left

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría dejado
habrías dejado
voshabrías dejado
él/ella/Ud.habría dejado
nosotroshabríamos dejado
vosotroshabríais dejado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían dejado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré dejadoI will have left
habrás dejadoyou will have left
voshabrás dejadoyou will have left
él/ella/Ud.habrá dejadohe/she/it will have left
nosotroshabremos dejadowe will have left
vosotroshabréis dejadoyou (pl.) will have left
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán dejadothey will have left

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yodeje
dejes
vosdejes
él/ella/Ud.deje
nosotrosdejemos
vosotrosdejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yodejara
dejaras
vosdejaras
él/ella/Ud.dejara
nosotrosdejáramos
vosotrosdejarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yodejase
dejases
vosdejases
él/ella/Ud.dejase
nosotrosdejásemos
vosotrosdejaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.dejasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya dejado
hayas dejado
voshayas dejado
él/ella/Ud.haya dejado
nosotroshayamos dejado
vosotroshayáis dejado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan dejado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera dejado
hubieras dejado
voshubieras dejado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera dejado
nosotroshubiéramos dejado
vosotroshubierais dejado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran dejado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
deja
vosdejá
él/ella/Ud.deje
nosotrosdejemos
vosotrosdejad
ustedesdejen

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no dejes
vosno dejes
él/ella/Ud.no deje
nosotrosno dejemos
vosotrosno dejéis
ustedesno dejen

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy dejando
estás dejando
vosestás dejando
él/ella/Ud.está dejando
nosotrosestamos dejando
vosotrosestáis dejando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están dejando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve dejando
estuviste dejando
vosestuviste dejando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo dejando
nosotrosestuvimos dejando
vosotrosestuvisteis dejando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron dejando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba dejando
estabas dejando
vosestabas dejando
él/ella/Ud.estaba dejando
nosotrosestábamos dejando
vosotrosestabais dejando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban dejando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría dejando
estarías dejando
vosestarías dejando
él/ella/Ud.estaría dejando
nosotrosestaríamos dejando
vosotrosestaríais dejando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían dejando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré dejando
estarás dejando
vosestarás dejando
él/ella/Ud.estará dejando
nosotrosestaremos dejando
vosotrosestaréis dejando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán dejando