Partir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Partir means “to leave”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for partir, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with partir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu pars à huit heures du matin tous les jours.” — “You leave at eight in the morning every day.”
- “Je suis parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “I have left on holiday in July this week.”
- “Il partait pour Paris demain autrefois.” — “He used to leave for Paris tomorrow in the past.”
- “Nous partirons à huit heures du matin demain.” — “We will leave at eight in the morning tomorrow.”
- “Tu es parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “You have left on holiday in July this week.”
- “Je partirais pour Paris demain un jour.” — “I would leave for Paris tomorrow one day.”
- “Il est important que il parte à huit heures du matin.” — “It is important that he leave at eight in the morning.”
- “Nous étions parti en vacances en juillet avant la fête.” — “We had left on holiday in July before the party.”
- “Il partira pour Paris demain demain.” — “He will leave for Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Ils partent à huit heures du matin tous les jours.” — “They leave at eight in the morning every day.”
- “Pars en vacances en juillet !” — “Leave on holiday in July!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about for Paris tomorrow. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how partir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of partir below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je partirai à huit heures du matin demain.” — “I will leave at eight in the morning tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “I have left on holiday in July this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je partirais pour Paris demain un jour.” — “I would leave for Paris tomorrow one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Partir in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of partir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, partir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is pars: “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, partir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is partait: “Il partait à huit heures du matin autrefois.” — “He used to leave at eight in the morning in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, partir reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle parti. The je form is suis parti: “Je suis parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “I have left on holiday in July this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, partir talks about what will happen. The nous form is partirons: “Nous partirons pour Paris demain demain.” — “We will leave for Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, partir talks about what would happen. The tu form is partirais: “Tu partirais à huit heures du matin un jour.” — “You would leave at eight in the morning one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, partir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is parte, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je parte en vacances en juillet.” — “It is important that I leave on holiday in July.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je partir pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je pars pour Paris demain.”
The infinitive partir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form pars.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu pars pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Tu pars pour Paris demain.”
pars is the je form. With tu you need pars. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je pars pour Paris demain hier.”
✓ Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé suis parti, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu pars à huit heures du matin.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu partes à huit heures du matin.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: partes, not the indicative pars.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je parti pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain.”
The passé composé of partir needs the auxiliary être plus the participle parti: the full je form is suis parti.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on partir. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of partir in the Present indicative?
- A) partons
- B) partez
- C) pars
- D) part
What is the tu form of partir in the Present indicative?
- A) partons
- B) partez
- C) pars
- D) part
What is the il/elle form of partir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) est parti
- B) suis parti
- C) es parti
- D) sommes parti
What is the nous form of partir in the Imperfect?
- A) partions
- B) partais
- C) partait
- D) partiez
What is the tu form of partir in the Future?
- A) partira
- B) partirons
- C) partiras
- D) partirai
What is the je form of partir in the Conditional?
- A) partiriez
- B) partirais
- C) partirait
- D) partirions
What is the il/elle form of partir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) parte
- B) partes
- C) partions
- D) partiez
What is the je form of partir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) étions parti
- B) étiez parti
- C) étais parti
- D) était parti
What is the gerund of partir?
- A) en jouant
- B) en connaissant
- C) en devenant
- D) en partant
What does partir mean in English?
- A) to leave
- B) to play
- C) to know (a person)
- D) to become
Answer key
- C) pars — the je form of partir in the Present indicative is pars. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) pars — the tu form of partir in the Present indicative is pars. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) est parti — the il/elle form of partir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est parti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) partions — the nous form of partir in the Imperfect is partions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) partiras — the tu form of partir in the Future is partiras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) partirais — the je form of partir in the Conditional is partirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) parte — the il/elle form of partir in the Present subjunctive is parte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) étais parti — the je form of partir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais parti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en partant — the gerund of partir is en partant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to leave — partir means “to leave” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does partir mean in English?
partir means “to leave”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is partir regular or irregular?
partir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is partant and the past participle is parti.
How do I practise partir every day?
Say one sentence with partir in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.”, “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” and “Je partirai pour Paris demain demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for partir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of partir — every tense of partir in one place.
- Partir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Partir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Jouer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Connaître conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Devenir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise partir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise partir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise partir with the interactive tool.