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The verbs partir, sortir, quitter and laisser
all mean 'to leave' in English, but they have distinguishing nuances and uses in French.
An important distinction among these verbs is the idea of transitivity.
Partir and sortir are intransitive in this context;
they do not take a direct object (but may be followed by a prepositional phrase).
On the other hand, quitter and laisser are transitive; they take a direct object in a sentence.
partir
Partir is an irregular -ir verb that conveys the particular meaning of
'leaving with the intention of going somewhere.' It is often followed by the preposition pour.
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| Joe-Bob: Je pars pour College Station. |
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Joe-Bob: I am leaving for College Station. |
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sortir
Sortir is an irregular -ir verb that conveys the particular meaning of 'going out or to exit from an enclosed space.'
It is often followed by the preposition de.
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| Bette: Je vais sortir ce soir. |
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Bette: I'm going to go out tonight. |
| Corey sort de sa chambre sans fermer la porte. |
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Corey goes out of his room without locking the door. |
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quitter
Quitter is a regular -er verb that is used when 'leaving someone or someplace.'
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| Tammy quitte la maison à 8 heures chaque matin. |
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Tammy leaves the house at 8 o'clock every morning. |
| Rita quitte son mari. |
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Rita is leaving her husband. |
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Note that quitter is a transitive verb, that is, it always takes a direct object:
son mari or la maison in the examples above.
Sortir is usually intransitive (no object), and needs the preposition de
to express the idea of leaving from somewhere.
laisser
Laisser is a regular -er verb that means 'to leave something or someone behind.'
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| Rita: Les gosses laissent leurs jouets partout. |
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Rita: The kids leave their toys everywhere. |
| Et toi, bon à rien, laisse-moi tranquille. Quelle vie de chien! |
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And you, good-for-nothing, leave me alone! What a dog's life! |
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Consider the following dialogue:
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| Tammy fait un cauchemar: |
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Tammy has a nightmare: |
| Tex: Tammy, je pars maintenant pour la France. Je rentre à Lyon. |
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Tex: Tammy, I'm leaving now for France. I'm going back to Lyon. |
| Tammy: Tu me quittes mon chéri? |
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Tammy: You're leaving me, darling? |
| Tex: Oui, Tammy c'est fini. |
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Tex: Yes, Tammy, it's over. |
| Tammy: Mais non! |
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Tammy: But, no! |
| Tex sort de l'appartement de Tammy. Mais il revient un moment plus tard. |
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Tex leaves Tammy's apartment, but he comes back a minute later. |
| Tex: J'ai laissé mes cigarettes dans la cuisine. |
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Tex: I left my cigarettes in the kitchen. |
| Puis il quitte l'appartement pour toujours. |
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Then he leaves the apartment forever. |
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