The preterite of dejar is used to express a specific instance of leaving something or someone in the past. For example, you might say “I left my keys at home,” indicating a completed action at a specific moment.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The endings are added directly to the stem ‘dej-‘ without any changes.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dejar (to leave/let) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The Preterite of dejar indicates a definitive action of leaving or permitting in the past.

To leave something/someone: Describes abandoning or departing from something or someone, for example Dejé las llaves en la mesa (I left the keys on the table).

To allow or permit: Used when giving permission, for example Me dejó salir temprano (He let me leave early).

To quit or stop: Indicates ceasing an activity, for example Dejó de fumar el año pasado (He quit smoking last year).

Examples

Examples of Dejar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Dejé las llaves en la mesa. (I left the keys on the table.)

¿Por qué dejaste tu trabajo? (Why did you leave your job?)

Ella dejó la ciudad ayer. (She left the city yesterday.)

Dejamos la fiesta temprano. (We left the party early.)

Los estudiantes dejaron sus mochilas en el aula. (The students left their backpacks in the classroom.)

Me dejé el paraguas en el autobús. (I left my umbrella on the bus.)

¿Dejaste la ventana abierta? (Did you leave the window open?)

El profesor dejó mucha tarea. (The teacher left a lot of homework.)

Dejamos todo organizado antes de salir. (We left everything organized before leaving.)

Los invitados dejaron la casa limpia. (The guests left the house clean.)

Dejé de fumar el año pasado. (I quit smoking last year.)

¿Dejaste algún mensaje? (Did you leave any message?)

Mi hermano dejó los estudios. (My brother quit his studies.)

Dejamos el coche en el taller. (We left the car at the workshop.)

Los pájaros dejaron el nido. (The birds left the nest.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dejar (to leave/let) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.