Laisser is a regular -er verb that means "to leave." Laisser is also found in numerous expressions and is commonly used as a semi-auxiliary as well as a pronominal verb.
To Leave
Laisser is a transitive verb and means "to leave something or someone."
- Peux-tu me laisser de l'argent ?
Could you leave me some money?
Je vais laisser la porte ouverte
I'm going to leave the door open.
Cela me laisse perplexe
That leaves me perplexed.
Au revoir, je te laisse
Good-bye, I'm going/leaving.
Laisse, je vais le faire
Leave it, I'll do it.
To Lose
Laisser less commonly means "to lose something."
- Il a laissé un bras dans l'accident
He lost an arm in the accident
Elle a failli laisser sa vie hier
She almost lost her life yesterday.
Semi-Auxiliary
When laisser is followed by an infinitive, it means "to let (someone) do (something)":
- Il m'a laissé sortir.
He let me go out.
Laisse-le jouer
Let him play.
Expressions with Laisser
Laisser is used in a number of expressions, including
- laisser tomber - to drop
laissez-moi rire ! - don't make me laugh!
laisse faire ! - never mind! don't bother!
On ne va pas le laisser faire sans réagir ! - We're not going to let him get away with that!
Expressions with laisser
Pronominal Verb
Se laisser + infinitive means "to let oneself be(come)."
- Il s'est laissé persuader
He let himself be persuaded.
Ne te laisse pas décourager !
Don't let yourself get discouraged!
Conjugations
Present tense
- je laisse
tu laisses
il laisse
nous laissons
vous laissez
ils laissent
