Quitter le travail I would translate to mean "leaving the job". There is the ambiguity of quitting the job (as in being unemployed) or just leaving for the day. It seems to be present, to some degree, in French as well.
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:
Je suis parti tôt ce soir.
I left early tonight.
Elle part tous les jours à six heures.
She leaves every day at six.
Vous êtes sortis de la pièce avant nous.
You came out of the room before us.
(You left the room before us.)
Nous sortons juste du métro.
We're just coming out of the metro.
(We're just leaving the metro.)
Il a quitté son travail.
He quit his job.
Elle quitte Patrick pour quelqu'un d'autre.
She's leaving Patrick for someone else.
Nous avons laissé les passeports dans la voiture !
We left the passports in the car!
Tu laisses la porte ouverte tous les soirs.
You leave the door open every evening.
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:
Cette année, nous partons en vacances en hiver.
This year, we're going (away) on holiday in the winter.
- 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).
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Je sors de la maison.
I'm going out of the house.
(I'm leaving the house.)
Tu laisses la porte ouverte tous les soirs.
You leave the door open every evening.
Elle part tous les jours à six heures.
She leaves every day at six.
Elle quitte Patrick pour quelqu'un d'autre.
She's leaving Patrick for someone else.
Vous êtes sortis de la pièce avant nous.
You came out of the room before us.
(You left the room before us.)
Cette année, nous partons en vacances en hiver.
This year, we're going (away) on holiday in the winter.
Je laisse ma fille à l'école.
I'm leaving my daughter at school.
Je suis parti tôt ce soir.
I left early tonight.
Je pars de cette ville.
I'm leaving this town.
Nous avons laissé les passeports dans la voiture !
We left the passports in the car!
Nous sortons juste du métro.
We're just coming out of the metro.
(We're just leaving the metro.)
Nous allons partir de Paris.
We are going to leave from Paris.
Il a quitté son travail.
He quit his job.
Je vais laisser mes clés sur la table.
I'm going to leave my keys on the table.
Je quitte cette ville pour de bon.
I'm leaving this town for good.
Q&A Forum 8 questions, 19 answers
LizKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
According to the lesson, they leave work should use partir, not quitter. Why is it quitter?
Asked 4 months ago
Liz asked:View original
According to the lesson, they leave work should use partir, not quitter. Why is it quitter?
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LizKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
For I leave early why quitte and not pars, which is what was indicated in the notebook lessons. Please explain?
Asked 4 months ago
Liz asked:View original
For I leave early why quitte and not pars, which is what was indicated in the notebook lessons. Please explain?
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SaraKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
?
I just did a quiz that says “Ils partent leur travail à 19h“ is wrong & “Ils quittent leur travail à 19h” is the correct answer. Can someone please explain why this is so? I can’t see why “partent” is wrong given what the lesson content says.
Asked 4 months ago
Hi Sara,
It would be "Ils partent de leur travail à 19h" or "Ils quittent leur travail à 19 h" .
For 'to leave something' you will normally use the transitive verb 'quitter'
e.g.
Nous quittons le bureau à 17 h tous les jours = We leave the office at 5 pm every day
Il a quitté sa femme = He has left his wife
Elle a quitté son pays à l'âge de 18 ans = She left her country at the age of 18
If you simply want to say 'to leave' you will use the intransitive verb 'partir'-
Je suis partie très tard ce matin = I left very late this morning
Partons vite! = Let's leave quickly!
You can use 'partir de' in a transitive way to by adding the de + place
Je suis partie de chez moi à l'âge de 16 ans = I left home at 16
The verb 'laisser' is often to 'leave behind'-
Laisse tomber! = Let it go!
J'ai laissé mon sac dans le train = I left my bag in the train
Hope this helps!
Sara asked:View original
?
I just did a quiz that says “Ils partent leur travail à 19h“ is wrong & “Ils quittent leur travail à 19h” is the correct answer. Can someone please explain why this is so? I can’t see why “partent” is wrong given what the lesson content says.
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AnnKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I was about to post this but can see all the discussion about it...so will the test question be corrected? "According to the lesson sortir requires de
Asked 4 months ago
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Sortir de means to exit from somewhere. Without the "de" it means to go out.
AnnKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
But my point is that it is wrong then on the test and should be corrected.
Ann asked:View original
I was about to post this but can see all the discussion about it...so will the test question be corrected? "According to the lesson sortir requires de
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GKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I thought sortir needed to be followed by "de" to express the idea of "leaving".?
The quiz question was:
How would you say "They are leaving soon".
The two correct responses were:
Ils partent bientôt.
Ils sortent bientôt.
I didn't choose the one containing sortent because the "de" was missing and I took it to mean they are going out soon.
Could someone please clarify this.
Asked 6 months ago
Hi G,
You are all correct,
sortir on its own is to go out
Nous sortons ensemble ce soir = We are going out together tonight
En sortant de la maison j'ai rencontré Marie = I met Marie on leaving the house
Vous sortez du secteur américain = You are leaving the American sector
( on a photo taken in 1961 at 'Checkpoint Charlie' found in an article about the German unification )
I have already asked Aurélie to have a look at the quiz as there might be an error...
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
You only use "de" with sortir if you want to say where you are exiting from.
Je sors du cinéma. -- I exit the movie theater. (Here you exit from the theater.)Je sors ce soir. -- I go out tonight (no "de", because no need to say where you're going out from)
GKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
What is confusing me is the question was asking how to say "They are leaving soon" (not exiting or going out) and the lesson states that sortir needs "de" to express the idea of "leaving".
GKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thanks for your help Chris but I will have to put this into the “just don’t get it” category. I must be missing something on this one. It happens....
One last question before putting it to bed:
The correct translation for – “Ils sortent bientôt” = "They are leaving soon”.
Is that correct?
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Yes, that's correct.
Sortir = leaving, going out.Sortir de = leaving or exiting from somewhere
Alan Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
It's a pity there's been no response from a native speaker - I thought G was correct, sortir on its own means to go out, not to leave.
GKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who finds the “sortir” part of this lesson a little confusing. I did use the report button initially to get clarification on this point but was redirected here.
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Yes, in fact, sortir de is leaving and I miswrote in my previous post. But it is always "leaving from somewhere". You can't say "Je sors de" in French if you want to say "I'm leaving". You'd say "Je m'en vais", for example, or simply "Je pars".
If you are leaving or exiting a particular place, you use sortir de.
G asked:View original
I thought sortir needed to be followed by "de" to express the idea of "leaving".?
The quiz question was:
How would you say "They are leaving soon".
The two correct responses were:
Ils partent bientôt.
Ils sortent bientôt.
I didn't choose the one containing sortent because the "de" was missing and I took it to mean they are going out soon.
Could someone please clarify this.
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RodKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Quitter vs Partir
We were asked to translate “I am leaving my place”. But it is ambiguous in English. E.g. if followed by “for ever” (as in moving out of my apartment), that would be “quitter”. But followed by “so i will see you at the cafe soon” would be “partir”. Shouldn’t the phrase be clarified to avoid ambiguity?
Asked 11 months ago
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
You can even say quitter if you leave work for home.
Je quit le travail à 5 heures et je rentre à la maison.
CécileKwiziq team member
Hi Rod,
As has been said elsewhere in the Q&A in this lesson -
Quitter and laisser are transitive and have an object unlike ´partir' which doesn't , so the use of the verb will depend on the actual sentence ...
Rod asked:View original
Quitter vs Partir
We were asked to translate “I am leaving my place”. But it is ambiguous in English. E.g. if followed by “for ever” (as in moving out of my apartment), that would be “quitter”. But followed by “so i will see you at the cafe soon” would be “partir”. Shouldn’t the phrase be clarified to avoid ambiguity?
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JenniferKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Partir vs quitter
I'm a bit unsure about the difference between these two. If you leave the job then it's quitter, but if you leave Paris, perhaps for good but perhaps not are both possible?
Asked 3 years ago
Kwiziq Q&A regular contributorCorrect answer
Partir is an intransitive verb meaning that it does not require a direct object to complete its meaning.
Quitter is a transitive verb meaning that it does require a direct object to complete its meaning.
Quitter is a transitive verb meaning that it does require a direct object to complete its meaning.
Jennifer asked:View original
Partir vs quitter
I'm a bit unsure about the difference between these two. If you leave the job then it's quitter, but if you leave Paris, perhaps for good but perhaps not are both possible?
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JohnKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Partir Must be followed by a preposition but does Sortir?
It seems as though "sortir" MUST be followed by "de + a place" and never "pour + a place" but the lesson is much less emphatic about "sortir" than "partir." Do the same rules apply? "Sortir is not always instransitive as in your lesson with Sortir + Avoir in the passé composé. Je sors pour Londres or Je sors Londres are not possible. Is that correct?
Asked 3 years ago
LauraKwiziq team member
Bonjour John,
Both of these French verbs can indicate movement toward and away from a place, and they both need prepositions for these meanings.
Je pars de Londres / Je pars pour Londres = I'm leaving London / I'm leaving for London.
Je sors de Londres / Je sors à Londres = I'm leaving from London / I'm going out in London.
You're correct that Je sors pour Londres and Je sors Londres are not possible, but remember that these verbs can also be used without places, e.g., Je pars à midi, On va sortir ce soir.
Tom Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I believe sortir can also be used transitively as in:
Je sors le chien - I am putting the dog out
Je sors les ordures - I am putting the trash out
DanielKwiziq community member
Hi, in those examples "Je pars à midi" and "On va sortir ce soir",
is it incorrect to say "Je sors à midi" and "On va partir ce soir"?
John asked:View original
Partir Must be followed by a preposition but does Sortir?
It seems as though "sortir" MUST be followed by "de + a place" and never "pour + a place" but the lesson is much less emphatic about "sortir" than "partir." Do the same rules apply? "Sortir is not always instransitive as in your lesson with Sortir + Avoir in the passé composé. Je sors pour Londres or Je sors Londres are not possible. Is that correct?
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