Quitarlas

Quitarlas is a Spanish verbal form consisting of the infinitive quitar plus the clitic pronoun las, meaning “to remove them” when the direct object is feminine and plural. It is used to refer to feminine plural nouns such as las llaves, las fotos, las gafas, in sentences where the object is already identified.

Grammatical usage

Quitarlas functions as the infinitive with an attached pronoun. It can occur after a conjugated verb (Quiero quitarlas, Voy a quitarlas) or after a preposition (Antes de quitarlas, Después de quitarlas). In affirmative tú commands the corresponding form is Quítalas, with an accent to preserve the original stress. The masculine counterpart is quitarlos, used when the referent is masculine or mixed gender (e.g., quitar los libros).

Notes

The form quitala(s) is chosen to agree with the gender and number of the nouns being referred to. When the object is masculine plural, the form would be quitarlos; when feminine plural, quitarlas. The use of quitarlas is common in instructions, explanations, or descriptions that involve removing feminine plural items.

Examples

- Quiero quitarlas mañana. (I want to remove them tomorrow.)

- Voy a quitarlas de la mesa. (I’m going to remove them from the table.)

- ¡Quítalas ya! (Take them off / Remove them now!)

- Antes de quitarlas, asegúrate de guardar las piezas.