Inklingo

How to Say "was leaving" in Spanish

The Spanish word for “was leaving” is “dejaba” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
verbA1
ongoing action in the past
A storybook illustration of a child walking away from a red ball placed on a stone bench, depicting the habitual action of leaving an item.

Examples

Yo siempre dejaba mi mochila junto a la puerta.

I always used to leave my backpack next to the door.

Él nunca me dejaba mensajes de voz.

He never used to leave me voice messages.

The Imperfect Tense (Habitual Past)

'Dejaba' describes actions that happened repeatedly or continuously in the past, like a past habit or routine. Think of it as 'used to leave' or 'was leaving.'

Imperfect vs. Preterite

Mistake: “Using 'dejó' (preterite) when describing a past routine.”

Correction: Use 'dejaba' for routines ('Every day, I used to leave my keys here'). 'Dejó' is for a single, completed action ('Yesterday, I left my keys here').

Related Translations

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