leave
- Used when someone departs from a place, person, or situation.
- Can be literal (physically going away) or figurative (leaving a conversation, leaving a group).
- Also used when giving permission to go (“You may leave now.”).
quit
- Means to stop doing something, especially a habitual action, job, or activity.
- Used only for ending involvement, not for physical departure.
- Common in both formal and informal contexts (quit a job, quit smoking).
leave
leave is a verb that means to go away from a place or person, or to stop being involved in something. It is used when someone departs, either physically or emotionally.
- To depart from a place: "She leaves the office at 6 PM."
- To end participation: "He decided to leave the team."
- To be absent: "I'm going to leave early today."
| Subject + leave + (object/place) | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| They leave the building | They depart from the building | "They leave the building daily." |
| She leaves her job | She stops working there | "She leaves her job in June." |
| We leave the conversation | We stop participating in talk | "We leave the conversation when it gets boring." |
- Can be followed by destinations ("leave for Paris") or situations ("leave the past behind").
- Empowers or permits others to go ("You can leave now.").
Exercise:
- Create three sentences using leave to show physical departure, emotional departure, and absence.
quit
quit means to stop doing something, especially something ongoing like a job, a habit, or an activity. It focuses on termination, not departure.
- To stop an activity or job: "He quit smoking."
- To resign: "She quit her job last week."
- To end participation: "They quit the club."
| Subject + quit + (activity/job) | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| He quits smoking | He stops the habit | "He quits smoking cold turkey." |
| She quit her job | She resigned | "She quit her job last month." |
| They quit the game | They stopped playing | "They quit the game early." |
- Typically used for negative or neutral actions (rarely for wanting someone to quit doing something positive).
- Common in both formal (resigning) and informal (stopping a habit) contexts.
Exercise:
- Write three sentences using quit for different contexts (job, habit, activity).
leave vs quit: summary
| leave | quit | |
|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | To depart/take oneself away | To stop doing something |
| Usage | Physical/figurative departure | Ending involvement/participation |
| Typical objects | A place, group, situation | Job, habit, activity |
| Form | Leave/left/leaving | Quit/quitted/quitting (quit most common) |
| Example | She leaves the room | She quits her job |
Exercise:
- Choose the correct word (leave or quit) for each sentence:
a. "I decided to _ the project halfway through."
b. "They usually _ the office by 5 PM."
c. "After many attempts, he finally _ smoking."
d. "When the meeting gets boring, some people _ the room."
leave is for departing (physically or emotionally), while quit is for stopping involvement in an activity or role.
- leave: used for going away or separating from something/someone.
- quit: used for ending a job, habit, or participation in something.