Laisser is a versatile and commonly used French verb that means “to let” or “to leave.” It is an essential verb to master in French as it is used in various contexts and frequently appears in everyday conversation, writing, and literature. In this article, we will explore the conjugation of the verb “laisser” in different tenses and moods to help you use it correctly in various situations.
Present Tense
In the present tense, “laisser” is conjugated as follows:
– Je laisse (I let/leave)
– Tu laisses (You let/leave)
– Il/elle/on laisse (He/She/One lets/leaves)
– Nous laissons (We let/leave)
– Vous laissez (You let/leave)
– Ils/elles laissent (They let/leave)
Past Tenses
1. Passé Composé (Present Perfect)
To form the passé composé, you need the auxiliary verb “avoir” and the past participle “laissé.”
– J'ai laissé (I let/left)
– Tu as laissé (You let/left)
– Il/elle/on a laissé (He/She/One let/left)
– Nous avons laissé (We let/left)
– Vous avez laissé (You let/left)
– Ils/elles ont laissé (They let/left)
2. Imparfait (Imperfect)
The imperfect tense is used for describing ongoing actions in the past or setting the scene.
– Je laissais (I used to let/leave)
– Tu laissais (You used to let/leave)
– Il/elle/on laissait (He/She/One used to let/leave)
– Nous laissions (We used to let/leave)
– Vous laissiez (You used to let/leave)
– Ils/elles laissaient (They used to let/leave)
3. Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)
The plus-que-parfait is used to express actions that had occurred before another action in the past.
– J'avais laissé (I had let/left)
– Tu avais laissé (You had let/left)
– Il/elle/on avait laissé (He/She/One had let/left)
– Nous avions laissé (We had let/left)
– Vous aviez laissé (You had let/left)
– Ils/elles avaient laissé (They had let/left)
Future Tense
To express actions in the future, we use the future tense:
– Je laisserai (I will let/leave)
– Tu laisseras (You will let/leave)
– Il/elle/on laissera (He/She/One will let/leave)
– Nous laisserons (We will let/leave)
– Vous laisserez (You will let/leave)
– Ils/elles laisseront (They will let/leave)
Conditional Mood
In the conditional mood, we express actions that are dependent on a condition:
– Je laisserais (I would let/leave)
– Tu laisserais (You would let/leave)
– Il/elle/on laisserait (He/She/One would let/leave)
– Nous laisserions (We would let/leave)
– Vous laisseriez (You would let/leave)
– Ils/elles laisseraient (They would let/leave)
10 example sentences with the word “laisser”
Here are 10 example sentences with the word “laisser” in different grammatical tenses:
- Je laisse la porte ouverte. (I leave the door open.) – Present Tense
- Tu as laissé un message sur mon répondeur. (You left a message on my voicemail.) – Past Participle (Passé Composé)
- Il laissera son chien à la maison. (He will leave his dog at home.) – Future Tense
- Nous laissions nos bagages à l'hôtel. (We used to leave our luggage at the hotel.) – Imperfect Tense
- Elles avaient laissé leur parapluie au restaurant. (They had left their umbrella at the restaurant.) – Pluperfect Tense
- Vous laissiez des traces dans la neige. (You were leaving tracks in the snow.) – Imperfect Tense
- On laisserait volontiers les fenêtres ouvertes en été. (One would gladly leave the windows open in the summer.) – Conditional Mood
- Elle laisse toujours un pourboire généreux. (She always leaves a generous tip.) – Present Tense
- Nous laisserons nos enfants jouer au parc. (We will let our children play in the park.) – Future Tense
- Je ne laisserais jamais personne te faire de mal. (I would never let anyone harm you.) – Conditional Mood