Lesson 39 · Verb chains
Teach
Fill it in 5
Say it 3
Review 4
Starting and stopping
me puse a / dejé de
Say these out loud
Why it works
Ponerse a + infinitive is starting, with a bit of effort behind it.
Dejar de + infinitive is stopping. No dejo de is cannot stop.
Empezar a is the neutral start; ponerse a is the one you get down to.
Why not paré de
paré de trabajar a las dos
I stopped working at two
Understandable, but dejar de is the normal frame for giving something up.
In a full sentence
Me puse a trabajar después de coger el metro.
I started working after taking the metro.
Use ponerse a for the moment an action begins.
Ella dejó de fumar después de comer con compañeros.
She stopped smoking after eating with colleagues.
Use dejar de when an ongoing habit stops.
Él dejó de trabajar a las seis en casa.
He stopped working at six at home.
Use dejar de for ending an activity.
5 gaps to fill, then 3 sentences from the English · say or type each one