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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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!
I agree Sara - the lesson does not illustrate quitter the way the quiz question “Ils quittent leur travail à 19h” asks. In fact, it (the lesson) states quitter means to leave something/someone for good.
Hi Sara,
I have a look at the lesson and it says that -
Quitter is the only verb you can use to express to leave something for good
It doesn’t say you cannot use it to mean to leave something like your place of work.
In grammatical terms , partir is intransitive and laisser/quitter are transitive which means the latter will have a direct object, so you cannot say -
Partir le travail
It has to be - quitter le travail ...
Laisser I always think as to let or to leave behind.
Hope this helps!
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