quitter + possessive adjective

Question

It was my understanding that quitter + possessive adjective means quitting permanently whereas quitter + direct article means leaving the place for a day.

In the quiz the options are

Ils partent leur travail à 19h. - incorrect

Ils quittent leur travail à 19h. - correct

however, in the quick lesson it says:

En général, nous quittons le bureau à 18h.We usually leave the office at 6pm.
Il a enfin quitté son travail ! Tant mieux pour lui !He finally quit his job! Good for him!
How does one discern the meaning of quitter between quitting and leaving?

Maarten Kamp · Accepted Answer

Tarika, 
a
As in English, French words frequently have more than one meaning. Context, other information, how the message is delivered, etc., convey the meaning intended. In everyday communication, the context is usually known, or can be asked about, or deduced.
In a lesson example, the author/translator of the sentence indicates the meaning intended. That is the case with the examples you quote. In both cases, I think everyday experience gives a good idea of which sense of ‘ quitter ‘ is meant. As lesson examples though, doubt has been removed by providing the English translations.

Jim Jones · Answer

Bonjour tarikahttps://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/partir-vs-quitterHave a look at the link and in particular the lesson within.I think that this will help you.Bonne continuation Jim

tarika diwakar · Answer

Hi Jim, thank you for your response.

The examples I mentioned at the end of the question are in that lesson. I'm still unclear on how to differentiate the meaning of quitter. In the examples from that lesson, quitter indicates quitting when followed by 'son travail' but means leaving when followed be 'le bureau'.

tarika diwakar · Answer

Thank you for your response! I understand now there is not necessarily a consistent rule to indicate the meaning - I had inferred the use of possessive adjectives to indicate quitter to mean quit and definite articles to change the meaning to leave. I understand that it is contextual.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Just to add to this interesting conversation, I don't think you can always tell the difference between leaving the office or quitting your job just by the use of the possessive or definite article, as you could say -
Il quitte son bureau/travail à 14 h aujourdhui = He is leaving his office/work  at 2 pm today
Just meaning he is leaving earlier today.
So as Maarten says, the context is the only reliable source for accurate meaning.