Dejar presents an action that a person exerts over something or someone. There is a decision, a movement or an intervention: taking an object from one place, putting it in another, allowing something or abandoning someone. Quedar presents the result, the final state or the location in which something or someone ends up. That is why dejar looks toward the action and quedar looks toward the situation that remains. In dejó el libro en la mesa, the attention is on who places the book. In el libro quedó en la mesa, the attention is on the place where the book ends up.

Basic difference between action and state

Idea
Use dejar when a person performs an action on something or someone.
Use quedar when something ends up in a place, a condition, or a situation.

With objects, dejar is used when a person lets them go, moves them, or places them somewhere. Dejé las llaves sobre la silla describes the act of putting them there. Quedar appears when the object is already in a final position or condition. Las llaves quedaron sobre la silla does not say who put them there, but where they ended up. It can also refer to a condition: la camisa quedó mojada shows the final state of the shirt. The difference is clear: dejar introduces the action and quedar presents the result.

Use with objects and changes of position

Usage	Explanation
Release an object	Use dejar when the person releases or places an object somewhere else.
Result of location	Use quedar when the object ends in a concrete position.

With people, dejar serves to give permission or to abandon. Dejar salir a un niño means to allow him to go out. Dejar a alguien solo or dejar a una persona en casa shows that one person leaves and the other stays. Quedar does not express permission. It is used to indicate permanence or final situation: quedé en casa means I stayed there, and quedó sola indicates that the person ended up alone. If the idea is to authorize or abandon, dejar is used; if the idea is to remain, forms with quedar naturally arise.

Usage with people and action relationships

Usage	Explanation
Give permission	Use dejar to permit that someone do something.
Abandon someone	Use dejar when one person leaves and another stays alone.
Remain in a place	Use quedar to indicate that someone stays in a site or situation.

Quedar is also used to locate places and measure the distance between points. In mi casa queda cerca del parque, the verb places the house in relation to another place. In el hospital queda a tres cuadras, distance is expressed. The usual structure is place + quedar + adverb of location or distance. With city, street, and building names, quedar functions as a verb of localization: la estación queda al lado del mercado, el museo queda lejos. It does not describe an action of moving something, but the position of a place within the speaker's mental map.

Usage for location and distance

Usage	Explanation
Location of a place	Use quedar to say where a site is.
Distance between points	Use quedar to express how far one place is from another.

To set a date, a time or a plan, quedar is used. Quedamos mañana, quedamos a las ocho and quedamos en el café express an agreement between people. It also appears in quedar en + infinitivo to decide something: quedamos en llamar el lunes. Here the verb does not mean to remain or to result, but to agree. Dejar is not used with that meaning. When the speaker wants to mark an appointment, a meeting or a shared decision, the natural form is quedar.

Usage to organize appointments and plans

Usage	Explanation
Set an appointment	Use quedar to agree on a moment with another person.
Close a plan	Use quedar to leave a plan or a time decided.

With adjectives, quedar presents the visible result of a change. The most common structure is subject + quedar + adjective. La pared quedó blanca indicates the final effect of the paint. El vestido quedó perfecto shows how it turned out in the end. It also works with physical or emotional states: quedó cansado, quedó claro, quedó abierto. The adjective describes the final condition, not an action. Dejar does not express that result in the same way; quedar concentrates on how something ends up after a process.

Usage with adjectives of result

Usage	Explanation
Change of appearance	Use quedar with adjectives to describe how something ends up after a change.
Final impression	Use quedar with adjectives to express the feeling something produces.
Visible state	Use quedar with adjectives to show the visible result of an action.

Dejar followed by an infinitive forms a very common construction to allow or cause an action to happen. The structure is dejar + infinitivo. Dejó entrar al perro means he allowed the dog to enter. No me dejan hablar indicates that I am not allowed to speak. Dejaron pasar a todos shows that someone caused or authorized people to pass. The subject of dejar controls the action of the verb in the infinitive. That infinitive can be entrar, salir, dormir, hablar, pasar or any other action verb. The person who receives permission or the cause appears as the direct object: dejarlo salir, dejar a los niños jugar.

dejar salirdejar trabajardejar entrardejar dormirdejar hablardejar caerdejar dedejar pasar

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Significa parar una acción o abandonar un hábitoSignifica permitir que alguien continúe con su tareaSignifica permitir el paso o también no aprovechar una ocasiónSignifica permitir el acceso a una persona o animalSignifica permitir descansar a alguien sin interrupcionesSignifica dar permiso para hablar o no interrumpirSignifica soltar algo para que baje sin controlSignifica permitir que alguien salga de un lugar

Common constructions with permission and cause

Word	Definition
dejar entrar	It means allowing access to a person or animal.
dejar salir	It means allowing someone to leave a place.
dejar dormir	It means allowing someone to rest without interruptions.
dejar hablar	It means giving permission to speak or not interrupt.
dejar trabajar	It means allowing someone to continue with their task.
dejar caer	It means dropping something so it falls uncontrollably.
dejar pasar	It means to permit passage or also not take advantage of an opportunity.
dejar de	It means to stop an action or abandon a habit.

Scramble

Some combinations with dejar and quedar function as established blocks. One says dejar en paz, dejar en claro, dejar pasar and dejar de + infinitivo to indicate the abandonment of an action: dejó de llover. With quedar there are very common quedar bien, quedar mal, quedar claro, quedar pendiente, quedar con alguien and quedar en + infinitivo. These expressions are not built word by word from the literal Spanish of each term; they are learned as common units. In phrases like me quedó claro or quedamos con Ana, the full meaning depends on the fixed placement of the verb.

dejar plantadodejar claroquedar con alguienquedar malquedar en nadaquedar claroquedar biendejar en paz

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Quiere decir no molestar más a alguienQuiere decir acordar verse con otra personaQuiere decir causar mala impresiónQuiere decir no acudir a una cita sin avisarQuiere decir entenderse sin confusiónQuiere decir no tener resultadoQuiere decir explicar algo sin dudasQuiere decir causar buena impresión

Common blocks with dejar and quedar

Word	Definition
dejar claro	It means to explain something without doubts.
dejar en paz	It means to stop bothering someone.
dejar plantado	It means not to show up for a date without warning.
quedar bien	It means to make a good impression.
quedar mal	It means to make a bad impression.
quedar claro	It means to be understood without confusion.
quedar en nada	It means to have no result.
quedar con alguien	It means to agree to meet another person.

Scramble