partir vs sortir vs quitter

Summary

partir = to leave/set off (intransitive, aux être: je suis parti); sortir = to go out of an enclosed space or go out socially (être when intransitive, avoir when transitive); quitter = to leave someone or something and always needs a direct object (aux avoir: j'ai quitté). Decision rule: name what you leave → quitter; just set off → partir; exit a place → sortir.

Explanation

These three verbs all touch the idea of "leaving," but they differ in what they focus on and in how they behave grammatically. The cleanest way to separate them is to ask whether you name what you leave, and whether you are exiting an enclosed space. That single pair of questions usually points straight to the right verb.

Partir means "to leave / depart / set off." It is intransitive: it stands alone or takes a preposition, but it does not take a direct object. So you say je pars, il part à huit heures, nous partons en vacances, elle est partie pour Lyon. You cannot put the thing you leave straight after it: "je pars la maison" is wrong. Partir also forms its compound tenses with être, and the participle agrees with the subject: elle est partie.

Sortir means "to go/come out" of a place, the opposite of entrer, and also "to go out" socially. Used intransitively it takes être and often a de-phrase: je sors de la maison, elle est sortie du bureau, on sort ce soir. Note one twist: sortir can be used transitively ("to take something out"), and then it switches to avoir: j'ai sorti la poubelle, il a sorti son téléphone. So the auxiliary tells you which sortir you mean.

Quitter means "to leave someone or something" and is strictly transitive: it must be followed by a direct object naming the person or place left behind. Hence je quitte la maison, elle a quitté son travail, il a quitté sa femme, nous quittons Paris demain. You cannot say "je quitte" on its own — it always needs that object — and it forms compound tenses with avoir, never être.

So the decision rule runs like this. If you name the person or place you are leaving, use quitter + object (je quitte la ville). If you are simply setting off with no object, use partir (je pars). If you are stepping out of an enclosed space or going out for the evening, use sortir (je sors de la salle, on sort). When two of them seem possible, the presence of a direct object is the deciding factor: an object forces quitter; its absence rules quitter out.

Keep the auxiliaries straight, since they show up in every past tense. Partir is always être (je suis parti(e)). Sortir is être when it means going out (je suis sorti(e)) but avoir when it means taking something out (j'ai sorti la voiture). Quitter is always avoir (j'ai quitté). Getting these right — and remembering that only quitter takes a direct object — resolves the overwhelming majority of mistakes with this trio.

Examples

Je pars à huit heures et je sors de la maison à sept heures et demie. — I leave at eight o'clock and I go out of the house at half past seven. (partir: set off (no object). sortir de: exit a place.)

Elle a quitté son travail le mois dernier. — She left her job last month. (quitter: needs a direct object (son travail); aux avoir.)

Nous sommes partis tôt, mais ils ne sont pas encore sortis. — We left early, but they haven't gone out yet. (Both partir and intransitive sortir take être (parti(e)s, sorti(e)s).)

Il a sorti la voiture du garage avant de quitter la ville. — He took the car out of the garage before leaving the town. (Transitive sortir takes avoir (a sorti); quitter takes a direct object (la ville).)

On sort ce soir, alors je quitte le bureau à dix-sept heures. — We're going out tonight, so I'm leaving the office at five. (sortir = go out socially (no object); quitter + object (le bureau).)

Common mistakes

Prerequisites

• Auxiliary selection: avoir vs être

Related rules

• Auxiliary selection: avoir vs être
• Past-participle agreement with être (subject)
• amener vs apporter