Dejar Conjugation Chart & Full Tense Guide

This is a comprehensive guide to the Spanish verb “dejar”, which means “to leave” or “to let”. 

I’m James, from Learn Spanish With James. Throughout this guide, you’ll find “dejar” conjugation charts with examples across different moods, including the indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, covering both simple and compound tenses.

You’ll also find example sentences and translations which show you how to conjugate “dejar” in various contexts. 

Present Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejo
you	tú	dejas
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	deja
we	nosotros,nosotras	dejamos
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	dejáis
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	dejan

When we use the Present Tense

The present tense in Spanish indicates actions that are happening right now or habitual actions. 

In the case of “dejar” it signifies actions in the present moment or ongoing habits. 

I have written some examples of this below to show you what this looks like in context. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Present Tense

• Yo dejo la llave sobre la mesa. (I leave the key on the table.)
• Tú dejas la puerta abierta. (You leave the door open.)
• Él/Ella deja un regalo en la entrada. (He/She leaves a gift at the entrance.)
• Nosotros dejamos todo listo antes de salir. (We leave everything ready before leaving.)
• Vosotros dejáis vuestras preocupaciones de lado. (You [all] leave your worries aside.)
• Ellos/Ellas dejan sus pertenencias en el armario. (They leave their belongings in the closet.)

Preterite Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejé
you	tú	dejaste
he, she. it, you (formal)	él, ella, usted	dejó
we	nosotros, nosotras	dejamos
you (plural)	vosotros, vosotras	dejasteis
they, you (pl. formal)	ellos, ellas, ustedes	dejaron

When we use the Preterite Tense

The preterite tense in Spanish expresses actions that occurred and were completed in the past at a specific time.

In every grammar guide I write, I remind Spanish learners not to confuse this tense with the imperfect tense, which is used for ongoing actions. 

We’ll come onto and practice the imperfect tense shortly. 

When conjugating “dejar” in the preterite tense, we follow the regular -AR verb endings. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Preterite Tense

• Yo dejé mi libro en la biblioteca. (I left my book in the library.)
• Tú dejaste la puerta cerrada anoche. (You left the door closed last night.)
• Él/Ella dejó una nota en la mesa. (He/She left a note on the table.)
• Nosotros dejamos de preocuparnos por el futuro. (We stopped worrying about the future.)
• Vosotros dejasteis las llaves en el coche. (You [all] left the keys in the car.)
• Ellos/Ellas dejaron el trabajo a mediodía. (They left work at noon.)

Imperfect Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejaba
you	tú	dejabas
he, she, it, you (formal)	él, ella, usted	dejaba
we	nosotros, nosotras	dejábamos
you (plural)	vosotros, vosotras	dejabais
they, you(pl. formal)	ellos, ellas, ustedes	dejaban

When we use the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense in Spanish is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past. 

It also sets the scene or describes characteristics in the past, hence its frequent usage in Spanish language literature. 

When conjugating “dejar” in the imperfect tense, we describe leaving something repeatedly or leaving something in the past over a period.

The literal translations are “was leaving” or “used to leave”. 

In English, I’ve just shown you two tenses. But in Spanish, these two tenses mean the same thing. 

So, “Yo dejaba mi coche en el garaje” means “I used to leave my car in the garage” and “I was leaving my car in the garage”.

Examples of “Dejar” in the Imperfect Tense

• Yo dejaba las llaves en la mesa todas las mañanas. (I used to leave the keys on the table every morning.)
• Tú dejabas la ventana abierta durante la noche. (You used to leave the window open during the night.)
• Él/Ella dejaba la luz encendida al salir. (He/She used to leave the light on when leaving.)
• Nosotros dejábamos todo en orden antes de irnos. (We used to leave everything in order before leaving.)
• Vosotros dejabais la ropa tirada por toda la habitación. (You [all] used to leave clothes scattered all over the room.)
• Ellos/Ellas dejaban los juguetes regados por toda la casa. (They used to leave toys scattered around the house.)

Future Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejaré
you	tú	dejarás
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	dejará
we	nosotros,nosotras	dejaremos
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	dejaréis
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	dejarán

When we use the Future Tense

The future tense in Spanish is used to express actions that will happen in the future. 

So, a “dejar” conjugation in the future tense indicates actions that will happen.

For instance, “Yo dejaré la puerta abierta” (I will leave the door open).

Examples of “Dejar” in the Future Tense

• Yo dejaré las llaves en la entrada. (I will leave the keys at the entrance.)
• Tú dejarás todo organizado antes de irte. (You will leave everything organized before leaving.)
• Él/Ella dejará una nota explicativa. (He/She will leave an explanatory note.)
• Nosotros dejaremos de lado las diferencias. (We will put our differences aside.)
• Vosotros dejaréis el trabajo más temprano mañana. (You [all] will leave work earlier tomorrow.)
• Ellos/Ellas dejarán el proyecto para mañana. (They will leave the project for tomorrow.)

Conditional Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejaría
you	tú	dejarías
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	dejaría
we	nosotros,nosotras	dejaríamos
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	dejaríais
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	dejarían

When we use the Conditional Tense

The conditional tense in Spanish is used to express actions that would happen under certain conditions. 

Unlike the future tense, which means “will”, the conditional tense means “would”.

Top Tip: Conjugate “dejar” in the conditional tense and throw in the imperfect subjunctive for good measure. Doing so is a great way to show you understand high level sentence structure!

Examples of “Dejar” in the Conditional Tense

• Yo dejaría todo por viajar. (I would leave everything to travel.)
• Tú dejarías tu trabajo si pudieras. (You would leave your job if you could.)
• Él/Ella dejaría su rutina por un día. (He/She would leave his/her routine for a day.)
• Nosotros dejaríamos de lado nuestras diferencias por el bien común. (We would put aside our differences for the common good.)
• Vosotros dejaríais las llaves en el buzón si fuera necesario. (You [all] would leave the keys in the mailbox if it were necessary.)
• Ellos/Ellas dejarían todo por seguir sus sueños. (They would leave everything to pursue their dreams.)

Perfect Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres	Auxiliary verb ‘haber’
I	yo	he	dejado
you	tú	has	dejado
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	ha	dejado
we	nosotros,nosotras	hemos	dejado
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	habéis	dejado
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	han	dejado

When we use the Perfect Tense

The perfect tense in Spanish allows us to say that we “have” done something. 

So, when conjugating “dejar” in the perfect tense, we say that we “have left” or “have let”.

For example: “has dejado tú el paraguas en el restaurante? (Have you left the umbrella in the restaurant?) 

Or, “hemos dejado la puerta abierta” (We’ve left the door open).

In order to create the perfect tense, conjugate the auxilary verb “haber” and add the past participle of “dejar”, which is “dejado”.

Top Tip: Learn how to conjugate the auxilary verb “haber” in the perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, and conditional perfect tenses. You’ll triple your level of fluency. All you need to do after all of these verb conjugations is add the past participle “dejado”. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Preterite Perfect Tense

• Yo he dejado las llaves en la mesa. (I have left the keys on the table.)
• Tú has dejado tus libros en el salón. (You have left your books in the living room.)
• Él/Ella ha dejado la puerta abierta. (He/She has left the door open.)
• Nosotros hemos dejado de lado nuestras diferencias. (We have put our differences aside.)
• Vosotros habéis dejado las llaves en el coche. (You [all] have left the keys in the car.)
• Ellos/Ellas han dejado el trabajo a medias. (They have left the job halfway.)

Pluperfect Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres	Auxiliary verb ‘haber’
I	yo	había	dejado
you	tú	habías	dejado
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	había	dejado
we	nosotros,nosotras	habíamos	dejado
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	habíais	dejado
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	habían	dejado

When we use the Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect tense in Spanish is used to express actions that had been completed before another past action.

When conjugating “dejar” in the pluperfect tense, we express that we “had left”. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Pluperfect Tense

• Yo había dejado mi tarea en casa. (I had left my homework at home.)
• Tú habías dejado la ventana cerrada antes de irte. (You had left the window closed before leaving.)
• Él/Ella había dejado una lista de compras. (He/She had left a shopping list.)
• Nosotros habíamos dejado claro nuestro punto de vista. (We had made our point of view clear.)
• Vosotros habíais dejado las llaves en la mesa antes de salir. (You [all] had left the keys on the table before leaving.)
• Ellos/Ellas habían dejado todo ordenado antes de la llegada de los invitados. (They had left everything organized before the arrival of the guests.)

Future Perfect Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres	Auxiliary verb ‘haber’
I	yo	habré	dejado
you	tú	habrás	dejado
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	habrá	dejado
we	nosotros,nosotras	habremos	dejado
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	habréis	dejado
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	habrán	dejado

When we use the Future Perfect Tense

We use the future perfect tense in Spanish to say that we “will have” done something. 

This tense allows us to say that something will be completed before a specific point in the future. 

So, a “dejar” conjugation in the future perfect tense (in the first person), becomes “habré dejado”.

As you can see, we are conjugating “haber” and using the past participle of “dejar”.

Examples of “Dejar” in the Future Perfect Tense

• Yo habré dejado mi trabajo antes de las vacaciones. (I will have left my job before the holidays.)
• Tú habrás dejado tus cosas preparadas para el viaje. (You will have left your things ready for the trip.)
• Él/Ella habrá dejado una carta de despedida. (He/She will have left a farewell letter.)
• Nosotros habremos dejado todo en orden antes de la mudanza. (We will have left everything in order before the move.)
• Vosotros habréis dejado las llaves en el mostrador para cuando lleguemos. (You [all] will have left the keys on the counter by the time we arrive.)
• Ellos/Ellas habrán dejado de lado sus diferencias para trabajar juntos. (They will have put aside their differences to work together.)

Conditional Perfect Tense

Pronouns	Pronombres	Auxiliary verb ‘haber’
I	yo	habría	dejado
you	tú	habrías	dejado
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	habría	dejado
we	nosotros,nosotras	habríamos	dejado
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	habríais	dejado
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	habrían	dejado

When we use the Conditional Perfect Tense

The conditional perfect tense in Spanish is used to express actions that would have been completed under certain conditions in the past. 

So, unlike the future perfect tense, which is “will have”, the conditional perfect tense is “would have”.

This is a great tense to use if you want to use the imperfect subjunctive. 

Top Tip: Using the conditional perfect tense with the imperfect subjunctive tense in the same sentence will help you score big in oral exams or written exams. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Conditional Perfect Tense

• Yo habría dejado todo por estudiar en el extranjero. (I would have left everything to study abroad.)
• Tú habrías dejado tu carrera si hubieras encontrado otra pasión. (You would have left your career if you had found another passion.)
• Él/Ella habría dejado su comodidad por ayudar a los demás. (He/She would have left his/her comfort to help others.)
• Nosotros habríamos dejado el proyecto si no hubiera sido viable. (We would have left the project if it hadn’t been feasible.)
• Vosotros habríais dejado las llaves en el mostrador si hubiera sido necesario. (You [all] would have left the keys on the counter if it had been necessary.)
• Ellos/Ellas habrían dejado sus diferencias de lado si hubieran tenido un motivo más fuerte. (They would have put their differences aside if they had had a stronger reason.)

Present Subjunctive

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	deje
you	tú	dejes
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	deje
we	nosotros,nosotras	dejemos
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	dejéis
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	dejen

When we use the Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive in Spanish is used to express desires, doubts, wishes, and recommendations. 

A “dejar” conjugation in the present subjunctive indicates actions that may or may not happen, depending on certain conditions.

As with any regualr -AR verb, “dejar” follows the -ER verb sentence structure in the present tense when conjugated as the present subjunctive. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Present Subjunctive

• Que yo deje las llaves en la mesa antes de salir de casa. (May I leave the keys on the table before leaving home.)
• Yo quiero que tú dejes de fumar. (I want you to quit smoking.)
• Es importante que él/ella deje todo en orden antes de irse. (It’s important that he/she leaves everything in order before leaving.)
• Sugiero que nosotros dejemos de discutir. (I suggest we stop arguing.)
• Ojalá que vosotros dejéis el miedo atrás y os enfrentéis a nuevos desafíos con confianza. (I hope you [all] leave fear behind and face new challenges with confidence.)
• Es necesario que ellos/ellas dejen de procrastinar. (It’s necessary that they stop procrastinating.)

Imperfect Subjunctive

Pronouns	Pronombres
I	yo	dejara, dejase
you	tú	dejaras, dejases
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	dejara, dejase
we	nosotros,nosotras	dejáramos, dejásemos
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	dejarais, dejaseis
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	dejaran, dejasen

When we use the Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive in Spanish is used to express hypothetical situations, wishes, and doubts about past events. 

When we conjugate “haber” and use the past participle of “dejar” to form the imperfect subjunctive tense, we are saying that something might have been left or let happen in the past under certain conditions.

Don’t worry if this sounds complex; I have provided some example sentences below. 

Examples of “Dejar” in the Imperfect Subjunctive

• Yo deseaba que dejara las llaves en la mesa antes de salir de casa. (I wished that he/she would leave the keys on the table before leaving home.)
• Yo deseaba que tú dejaras de preocuparte tanto. (I wished you would stop worrying so much.)
• Me sorprendía que él/ella dejara todo para último momento. (I was surprised that he/she left everything for the last minute.)
• Era importante que nosotros dejáramos de lado nuestras diferencias. (It was important that we put our differences aside.)
• Era necesario que vosotros dejarais el miedo atrás y os enfrentarais a nuevos desafíos con confianza. (It was necessary for you [all] to leave fear behind and face new challenges with confidence.)
• Dudaba que ellos/ellas dejaran el trabajo sin terminar. (I doubted they would leave the job unfinished.)

Affirmative Imperative 

Pronouns	Pronombres
you	tú	¡deja!
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	¡deje!
we	nosotros,nosotras	¡dejemos!
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	¡dejad!
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	¡dejen!

When We Use The Affirmative Imperative

The affirmative imperative in Spanish is used to give commands or orders in a direct and affirmative manner. 

A “dejar” conjugation in the affirmative imperative instructs someone to leave or let something happen.

Examples of “Dejar” in the Affirmative Imperative

• Deja la puerta abierta. (Leave the door open.) – Addressed to someone informally
• Dejemos de discutir y trabajemos juntos. (Let’s stop arguing and work together.) – Addressed to “nosotros,” indicating the speaker and others involved.
• Dejad los libros en sus estantes. (Leave the books on their shelves.) – Addressed to multiple people informally, like friends or family members.

Negative Imperative

Pronouns	Pronombres
you	tú	¡no dejes!
he,she,it, you(formal)	él,ella,usted	¡no deje!
we	nosotros,nosotras	¡no dejemos!
you pl.	vosotros, vosotras	¡no dejéis!
they, you pl. (formal)	ellos,ellas,ustedes	¡no dejen!

When We Use The Negative Imperative

As the name of this form suggests, the negative imperative in Spanish is used to give commands or orders in a direct and negative manner, instructing someone not to do something. 

A “dejar” conjugation in the negative imperative means that we prohibit leaving or letting something happen.

In order to form the negative imperactive, we add “no” to the start of the statement and use the present subjunctive form of “dejar”.

Examples of “Dejar” in the Negative Imperative

• No dejes la puerta abierta. (Don’t leave the door open.) – Addressed to someone informally, such as a friend or family member.
• No dejemos de estudiar hasta terminar. (Let’s not stop studying until we finish.) – Addressed to “nosotros,” indicating the speaker and others involved.
• No dejéis los platos sucios en el fregadero. (Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink.) – Addressed to multiple people informally, like friends or family members.

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