Note 52.3 — Front matter (continued 2)

sin que dejase de echarle, without being sure to cast at him. This very curious construction is not noted in grammars or dictionaries, not even in Cuervo's excellent Diccionario de Construcción. The development of dejar de as a negative may be summarized as follows: 1. It negatives an action by denoting its cessation, e.g. deje V. de hablar. 2. From "ceasing to do" the next step is "fail to begin," cf. page 30, note 2. 3. No dejar de = "nevertheless," cf. page 6, note 6. 4. Dejar de = no, e.g. si éramos liberales, o dejábamos de serlo. 5. Finally, as in the present example, it comes to be merely an expletive (here correlative to sin), though an expletive which adds a certain emphasis. No coma V. melón sin dejar de echarle sal, "Don't eat melon without putting salt on it." No pase V. por Madrid sin dejar de venir a verme.