In French, depending on context you will use one of these four verbs to express to leave: partir, laisser, quitter or sortir.
Look at these sentences:
Note the following distinctions:
- partir means to leave / to go away. You can use it on its own (e.g. I leave = Je pars).
When used with a place, it will always be followed by a preposition (e.g. I leave from / for = Je pars de / pour)
When used with a place, it will always be followed by a preposition (e.g. I leave from / for = Je pars de / pour)
Special case:
It's very colloquial to say partir en vacances for to go on holiday:
- sortir means to go out. When used with de, sortir de + place, it can express the idea of 'leaving', in the sense of coming or going out of a place.
- quitter means to leave some place / somewhere. You cannot use it on its own: it always needs an object, and it can be used for places and people (for example to break up).
Quitter is also the only one to mean to leave / quit a job or [someone] for good.
- laisser means to leave something / to let. You cannot use it on its own. However, this one is NOT used for places, only to leave people or things in places.
Grammar Jargon:
partir and sortir are intransitive verbs, whereas quitter and laisser are always transitive verbs (i.e. have a direct object).
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