Laisser: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Laisser means “to leave, to let”, 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 laisser, 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 laisser, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je laisse mon livre sur la table tous les jours.” — “I leave my book on the table every day.”
  2. “Tu laisses les clés à la maison tous les jours.” — “You leave the keys at home every day.”
  3. “J'ai laissé partir Marie ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have left Marie leave this evening this week.”
  4. “Il laissait mon livre sur la table autrefois.” — “He used to leave my book on the table in the past.”
  5. “Nous laisserons les clés à la maison demain.” — “We will leave the keys at home tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as laissé partir Marie ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have left Marie leave this evening this week.”
  7. “Je laisserais mon livre sur la table un jour.” — “I would leave my book on the table one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il laisse les clés à la maison.” — “It is important that he leave the keys at home.”
  9. “Nous avions laissé partir Marie ce soir avant la fête.” — “We had left Marie leave this evening before the party.”
  10. “Il laissera mon livre sur la table demain.” — “He will leave my book on the table tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils laissent les clés à la maison tous les jours.” — “They leave the keys at home every day.”
  12. “Laisse partir Marie ce soir !” — “Leave Marie leave this evening!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about my book on the table. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how laisser changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of laisser below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je laisse mon livre sur la table tous les jours.” — “I leave my book on the table every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je laisserai les clés à la maison demain.” — “I will leave the keys at home tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai laissé partir Marie ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have left Marie leave this evening this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je laisserais mon livre sur la table un jour.” — “I would leave my book on the table 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.

Laisser in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of laisser that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, laisser describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is laisse: “Je laisse mon livre sur la table tous les jours.” — “I leave my book on the table every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, laisser describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is laissait: “Il laissait les clés à la maison autrefois.” — “He used to leave the keys at home in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, laisser reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle laissé. The je form is ai laissé: “J'ai laissé partir Marie ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have left Marie leave this evening this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, laisser talks about what will happen. The nous form is laisserons: “Nous laisserons mon livre sur la table demain.” — “We will leave my book on the table tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, laisser talks about what would happen. The tu form is laisserais: “Tu laisserais les clés à la maison un jour.” — “You would leave the keys at home one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, laisser appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is laisse, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je laisse partir Marie ce soir.” — “It is important that I leave Marie leave this evening.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je laisser mon livre sur la table.”

✓ Right: “Je laisse mon livre sur la table.”

The infinitive laisser never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form laisse.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu laisse mon livre sur la table.”

✓ Right: “Tu laisses mon livre sur la table.”

laisse is the je form. With tu you need laisses. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je laisse mon livre sur la table hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai laissé mon livre sur la table hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai laissé, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu laisses les clés à la maison.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu laisses les clés à la maison.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: laisses, not the indicative laisses.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je laissé mon livre sur la table.”

✓ Right: “Je ai laissé mon livre sur la table.”

The passé composé of laisser needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle laissé: the full je form is ai laissé.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on laisser. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of laisser in the Present indicative?

    • A) laisses
    • B) laissons
    • C) laissez
    • D) laisse

  2. What is the tu form of laisser in the Present indicative?

    • A) laisses
    • B) laisse
    • C) laissons
    • D) laissez

  3. What is the il/elle form of laisser in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as laissé
    • B) avons laissé
    • C) a laissé
    • D) ai laissé

  4. What is the nous form of laisser in the Imperfect?

    • A) laissais
    • B) laissait
    • C) laissiez
    • D) laissions

  5. What is the tu form of laisser in the Future?

    • A) laisserons
    • B) laisseras
    • C) laisserai
    • D) laissera

  6. What is the je form of laisser in the Conditional?

    • A) laisserais
    • B) laisserait
    • C) laisserions
    • D) laisseriez

  7. What is the il/elle form of laisser in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) laisses
    • B) laissions
    • C) laissiez
    • D) laisse

  8. What is the je form of laisser in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avait laissé
    • B) avions laissé
    • C) aviez laissé
    • D) avais laissé

  9. What is the gerund of laisser?

    • A) en pensant
    • B) en croyant
    • C) en laissant
    • D) en suivant

  10. What does laisser mean in English?

  • A) to leave, to let
  • B) to follow
  • C) to think
  • D) to believe

Answer key

  1. D) laisse — the je form of laisser in the Present indicative is laisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) laisses — the tu form of laisser in the Present indicative is laisses. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) a laissé — the il/elle form of laisser in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a laissé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) laissions — the nous form of laisser in the Imperfect is laissions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) laisseras — the tu form of laisser in the Future is laisseras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) laisserais — the je form of laisser in the Conditional is laisserais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) laisse — the il/elle form of laisser in the Present subjunctive is laisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) avais laissé — the je form of laisser in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais laissé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en laissant — the gerund of laisser is en laissant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to leave, to let — laisser means “to leave, to let” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does laisser mean in English?

laisser means “to leave, to let”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is laisser regular or irregular?

laisser is regular in every tense. The gerund is laissant and the past participle is laissé.

How do I practise laisser every day?

Say one sentence with laisser 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 laisse mon livre sur la table tous les jours.”, “J'ai laissé mon livre sur la table cette semaine.” and “Je laisserai mon livre sur la table 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 laisser, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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