Dialogue
Laisser + infinitive: let someone speak, finish or leave
Practise laisser + infinitive in a meeting: who gives permission, who acts, how pronouns work, and how laisser differs from faire.
- B2
- 10 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Laisser + someone + an infinitive means “let someone do something”: Je laisse Nora parler. Conjugate laisser and keep the action in the infinitive; with a pronoun, say Je la laisse parler.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
How do you use laisser + infinitive?
A meeting is running late. You chair it; Hugo wants to interrupt Nora. In practice mode, use the English cues to answer as the chair.
- Hugo
On peut passer au vote ?
English
Can we move to the vote?
- You
Attends, je laisse Nora terminer.
Ask him to wait; you are letting Nora finish.
English
Wait, I’m letting Nora finish.
- Nora
Merci. Je voudrais expliquer mon choix.
English
Thank you. I’d like to explain my choice.
- You
Bien sûr, nous te laissons parler.
Tell Nora that you will let her speak.
English
Of course, we’ll let you speak.
- Hugo
Et les autres ? Ils peuvent répondre ?
English
And the others? Can they reply?
- You
Oui, je les laisse répondre après Nora.
Say you will let them reply after Nora.
English
Yes, I’ll let them reply after Nora.
- Nora
Je dois partir à dix-huit heures.
English
I have to leave at six.
- You
D’accord, je te laisse partir avant le vote.
Let Nora leave before the vote.
English
All right, I’ll let you leave before the vote.
- Hugo
Je peux résumer la discussion ?
English
Can I sum up the discussion?
- You
Oui, vas-y. Nous te laissons faire.
Tell Hugo to go ahead; you will leave it to him.
English
Yes, go ahead. We’ll leave it to you.
| Sentence | Who lets it happen? | Who acts? |
|---|---|---|
| Le professeur laisse Nora parler. | le professeur | Nora |
| Nous te laissons répondre. | nous | tu |
| Je les laisse partir. | je | ils / elles |
In the first row, the teacher is the subject of laisse, while Nora does the speaking. With a longer action, keep its complement: Je laisse Nora terminer son explication. There is no à or de between the person and the infinitive.
Je laisse les enfants rire.I let the children laugh.
Focus: I allow the laughter to continue.
Ils s’amusent ; je les laisse rire.
They are having fun; I let them laugh.
Je fais rire les enfants.I make the children laugh.
Focus: I cause the laughter.
Je raconte une histoire et je les fais rire.
I tell a story and make them laugh.