Partir (to leave) · All tenses

Partir = to leave (with implied destination, intransitive): 'je pars demain' (I'm leaving tomorrow), 'partir pour Paris' (to leave for Paris). Quitter = to leave (a person or place, transitive — takes a direct object): 'je quitte la maison' (I'm leaving the house), 'je quitte mon travail' (I'm leaving my job). Partir is about motion; quitter is about parting from something.

Partir is the model for the -tir/-mir/-vir family: sortir (sors, sors, sort, sortons, sortez, sortent), dormir (dors, dors, dort, dormons, dormez, dorment), mentir (mens, mens, ment, mentons, mentez, mentent), sentir (sens, sens, sent, sentons, sentez, sentent). All share the same drop-the-stem-consonant-before-singular pattern.

Use ÊTRE + past participle 'parti': je suis parti, tu es parti, il est parti / elle est partie, nous sommes partis / parties, vous êtes parti(e)(s), ils sont partis / elles sont parties. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Partir is one of the 'house of être' motion verbs (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver…). All express motion or change of state. Plus all reflexive verbs use être. The être-vs-avoir distinction is one of the most-tested French grammar points.

Use 'je suis parti' for a specific completed departure: 'ce matin, je suis parti à 8h' (this morning, I left at 8). Use 'je partais' for habitual past leaving or interrupted action: 'je partais quand le téléphone a sonné' (I was about to leave when the phone rang).

Partir is regular in the imparfait: je partais, tu partais, il/elle/on partait, nous partions, vous partiez, ils/elles partaient. Stem 'part-' from nous form.

Use 'je partais' for habitual or ongoing past leaving: 'chaque jour, je partais à 8h' (every day, I used to leave at 8). Use 'je suis parti' for a specific completed departure: 'hier, je suis parti à 8h' (yesterday, I left at 8). 'Je partais quand…' (I was leaving when…) is the classic interrupted-action structure.

'Je partais te dire' = 'I was about to tell you' — uses the imparfait of partir as the past tense of 'aller + infinitive' for unrealized intentions. Equivalent to 'j'allais te dire'. The imparfait of partir specifically conveys that you were on the verge of leaving / about to do something.

The subjonctif of partir is: que je parte, que tu partes, qu'il parte, que nous partions, que vous partiez, qu'ils partent. The stem 'part-' is consistent across all six persons — no stem alternation here.

Use it after triggers of necessity, will, doubt, or time: 'il faut que je parte' (I have to leave), 'avant que tu partes' (before you leave), 'à moins qu'il parte' (unless he leaves). 'Il faut que' + subjonctif is the standard French structure for 'I need to' or 'X needs to'.

Many -er/-ir/-re subjonctif forms collapse onto indicative forms — 'parte' (que je parte / qu'il parte) is identical in spelling and pronunciation to 'il part' (he leaves) plus a silent final 'e'. Context decides: subjonctif appears in 'que' clauses after triggers; indicative makes direct statements. This collapse is one reason the subjonctif feels invisible in French conversation.

The futur of partir is regular: je partirai, tu partiras, il/elle/on partira, nous partirons, vous partirez, ils/elles partiront. Full infinitive 'partir' serves as the future stem.

Partir wasn't part of the contracted-stem futur family (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, faire → fer-, etc.). Its infinitive was already pronounceable as a future stem, and the -ir ending integrated cleanly with the future endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont). All regular -ir verbs follow this same predictable pattern.

Both express future leaving. 'Je partirai' (futur simple) feels slightly more formal or further in time. 'Je vais partir' (futur proche) is more conversational for near-term plans — and very common for departures: 'je vais partir bientôt' (I'm going to leave soon).

The conditionnel of partir is: je partirais, tu partirais, il/elle/on partirait, nous partirions, vous partiriez, ils/elles partiraient. Same full-infinitive stem as the futur, plus imperfect endings.

'Je partirais bien' literally means 'I would leave well' but idiomatically means 'I'd love to leave' or 'I'd gladly go'. The 'bien' is an intensifier conveying eagerness. Same construction works for any verb of desire: 'je mangerais bien une pizza', 'je dormirais bien'.

Standard French hypothetical structure: 'si + imparfait, + conditionnel': 'si j'avais le temps, je partirais' (if I had time, I would leave). Never put the conditional in the 'si' clause — that's a classic non-native error. The si-clause expresses the condition; the main clause expresses the result.