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
- 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
- sortir means to go/come out.
When used with de, as in sortir de + place, it can express the idea of leaving [somewhere], i.e. going/coming out of a place.
When used with de, as in sortir de + place, it can express the idea of leaving [somewhere], i.e. going/coming out of a place.
Quitter
- 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 (i.e. to break up).
Quitter is also the only one to mean to leave / quit a job or [someone] for good.
Laisser
- 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 is an intransitive verb, whereas quitter and laisser are always transitive verbs (i.e. have a direct object) and sortir can be either.
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Braimap today »
