Phrasal verb
Leave out
What does 'leave out' mean?
'Leave out' means not including someone or something, deliberately or accidentally. For example, 'The designer left out the final logo.' Full nouns can follow 'out' or come between 'leave' and 'out', but object pronouns must come between them. Use 'out of' to name the larger whole or group.
Key points
- 'Leave out' describes omissions and social exclusion.
- Full nouns can go before or after 'out'.
- Object pronouns must come between 'leave' and 'out'.
- Use 'out of' to name the larger whole or group.
Can you use "Leave out" yourself?
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
The full explanation
Leave out means not including someone or something, either by deliberate choice or through an accidental oversight.
The chef decided to leave out the cream to create a lighter soup.
Why it works: A deliberate decision to omit an ingredient from a recipe.
2 more examples
-
I reviewed the schedule and realized we left out the lunch break.
An accidental omission of an event from a daily plan.
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He felt left out when his classmates planned a weekend camping trip without him.
Social exclusion where someone feels uninvited and isolated.
Read the full guide
Decide When to Use Leave Out
Use leave out when you do not include an item, a person, or a piece of information. This omission can happen intentionally because you want to keep a text short, or accidentally because you overlooked a small detail. The verb applies to physical items like ingredients in a bowl, written words in a document, and people who are not invited to an event. In daily speech, native speakers choose this phrase instead of more formal verbs such as omit or exclude.
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You can leave out the chili powder if you dislike spicy meals.
Why it works: The cook chooses not to include that specific spice.
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The summary leaves out several minor statistics to save time.
Why it works: The writer deliberately avoids small numbers to keep the text short.
Your turn
Which sentence shows a deliberate choice to omit something from a document?
Answer: She left out the third chapter because it was too technical for beginners.
Show the answer
Answer: She left out the third chapter because it was too technical for beginners.
Leaving out the chapter means deliberately choosing not to include it in the book.
Place Nouns Before or After Out
Leave out is a separable phrasal verb when you work with full noun phrases. You have two natural options when naming an object or a person. You can place the complete noun after the particle out, or you can place the noun directly between leave and out. Both patterns are grammatically correct and carry identical meaning in conversation. If the noun phrase is long, placing it after out keeps the sentence rhythm smooth and clear for listeners.
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Please leave out the extra paragraph on the final slide.
Why it works: The full noun phrase sits after the particle out.
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Please leave the extra paragraph out on the final slide.
Why it works: The full noun phrase sits between leave and out without changing meaning.
This also comes up in Pull out and Rule out.
Your turn
Which pair of sentences demonstrates correct separable placement for a noun?
Answer: Leave out the salt and Leave the salt out are both natural sentences.
Show the answer
Answer: Leave out the salt and Leave the salt out are both natural sentences.
Full nouns can appear either after the particle or between the verb and the particle.
Lock Pronouns Between Leave and Out
While full nouns offer two positions, object pronouns allow only one correct order. When you replace a noun with words like it, them, him, or her, you must place the pronoun directly between leave and the particle out. Saying leave out it or leave out them sounds unnatural and violates English word order rules. This restriction applies whether you speak in the present tense, ask a polite question, or give instructions.
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If that clause sounds confusing, leave it out.
Why it works: The pronoun it must sit between the verb leave and the particle out.
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Those names are unnecessary, so we left them out.
Why it works: The pronoun them is placed before out in the past tense.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly replaces a noun with a pronoun?
Answer: That rule is obsolete, so the committee decided to leave it out.
Show the answer
Answer: That rule is obsolete, so the committee decided to leave it out.
Object pronouns must sit directly between leave and out.
Connect the Source with Of
When you want to identify the larger whole from which an element is removed, add the preposition of after out. The pattern becomes leave something out of a container, document, team, or schedule. Without of, the sentence only names what was omitted. Adding of specifies the surrounding context or group that no longer contains that element. In fast speech, the words out and of link together smoothly into a single sound.
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The baker left sugar out of the morning batch of muffins.
Why it works: The preposition of connects the omitted ingredient to the batch.
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Do not leave my colleague out of the message thread.
Why it works: The phrase out of identifies the communication channel.
Your turn
Which preposition correctly links the missing item to the original collection?
Answer: of
Show the answer
Answer: of
English uses out of to name the larger whole or container from which something is omitted.
Use Left Out in Past Events
The past simple and past participle form of leave is the irregular form left. To talk about completed events, use left out. In passive constructions, you combine a form of be with left out to show that an item or person was omitted by someone else. When forming these passive sentences, remember that the person or omitted item functions as the grammatical subject, while the agent who made the decision can be omitted entirely.
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Three key dates were left out during the print run.
Why it works: The passive form were left out describes an omission without naming the printer.
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Our supervisor noticed that someone left out the total cost.
Why it works: Left out serves as the active past simple verb.
Your turn
Select the correct passive past sentence.
Answer: The final conclusion was left out by the author.
Show the answer
Answer: The final conclusion was left out by the author.
The irregular past participle is left, producing the passive structure was left out.
Describe Exclusion with Felt Left Out
When applied to people, leave out often carries emotional weight. If coworkers plan a dinner and do not tell you, you might say that you felt left out. This fixed expression describes the feeling of social isolation or intentional rejection. Even if the organizers simply forgot to send an invitation, the emotional impact remains real. The phrase felt left out focuses on the subjective experience of being excluded from a community or conversation.
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Elena felt left out when everyone else discussed the private gathering.
Why it works: The expression captures her personal sense of social isolation.
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Good managers ensure that remote workers never feel left out.
Why it works: The verb phrase refers to preventing feelings of exclusion among team members.
Your turn
What does someone mean when they say they felt left out at a party?
Answer: They felt excluded or ignored by the other guests.
Show the answer
Answer: They felt excluded or ignored by the other guests.
Felt left out expresses the emotional discomfort of being socially excluded.
Distinguish Leave Out from Forget
Learners often confuse leave out with forget. While forget always signals an unintentional memory failure, leave out frequently describes a conscious, deliberate editing choice. If you choose not to mention your first job on a modern resume, you deliberately leave it out to save space; you did not forget your own employment history. Use forget for memory lapses, and use leave out when you want to highlight intentional omission or the physical act of skipping something.
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I forgot my house keys on the kitchen table this morning.
Why it works: Forget marks an accidental loss of memory, not an editorial decision.
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I left out my oldest job history to make the resume fit on one page.
Why it works: Leave out shows a purposeful choice to omit information.
Your turn
Which situation requires leave out instead of forget?
Answer: You intentionally skip an unnecessary step in a printed procedure.
Show the answer
Answer: You intentionally skip an unnecessary step in a printed procedure.
Leave out expresses deliberate omission, whereas forget indicates an accidental memory lapse.
Hear Linked Sounds Around Leave Out
In natural conversational English, speakers link consonant endings to initial vowels. Because leave ends in the voiced sound /v/ and out begins with a vowel diphthong, the two words flow together as lee-vowt. When followed by of, the final /t/ of out often links smoothly as well. In casual speech, left out can sound like lef-towt because the consonant cluster /ft/ connects directly to the following vowel sound. Recognizing this linking helps you identify the phrase in rapid speech.
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Did they leave out any names?
Why it works: The voiced /v/ in leave connects to the vowel in out.
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She left out a major point during the interview.
Why it works: The /t/ in left carries over to form a smooth link with the vowel in out.
Your turn
Why can leave out sound like a single connected word in conversation?
Answer: The final consonant sound of leave links directly to the vowel opening out.
Show the answer
Answer: The final consonant sound of leave links directly to the vowel opening out.
Consonant-to-vowel linking naturally joins the /v/ of leave to the vowel starting out.
Other meanings of "leave out"
This lesson practises one meaning. You may also hear these.
To exclude someone from a group or activity.
Jon felt left out during the team discussion.
Common mistakes with "leave out"
What learners often say, what to say instead, and why.
-
Not this:
Please leave out it from the list.Say: Please leave it out of the list.
Object pronouns go between 'leave' and 'out'; use 'out of' for the larger list.
-
Not this:
We leaved out one address.Say: We left out one address.
'Left' is the past simple and past participle form of 'leave'.
-
Not this:
The teacher left out of Sam from the activity.Say: The teacher left Sam out of the activity.
A full noun can go between 'leave' and 'out'; use 'of' before the larger activity.
Use it naturally
How people really use “leave out”
Neutral Fine almost anywhere, at work or with friends.
Words it often goes with
- leave out important detailsPlease don't leave out important details when you explain the problem.
- leave out an ingredientYou can leave out an ingredient if you don't like its taste.
- feel left outI sometimes feel left out when everyone talks about a show I haven't seen.
What people also say
- “Leave it out.” instead of “Leave out it.”Put it between leave and out.
Questions about "Leave out"
What is the difference between leave out and omit?
Both words mean not including something. Leave out is the natural, informal phrasal verb used in everyday speech and informal writing. Omit is more formal and appears in academic writing, legal contracts, or official instructions. You can use either in professional work, but leave out sounds friendlier in conversation.
You can leave out that bullet point on the slide.
Applicants may omit previous postal addresses if they lived abroad.
Can I say 'leave out it' if I speak quickly?
No. English grammar strictly requires object pronouns to sit between the verb and the particle in separable phrasal verbs. You must always say leave it out or left them out. Placing the pronoun at the end sounds ungrammatical to native speakers.
I found a typo in the title, so I left it out.
Those old rules do not apply, so we left them out.
How does leave out differ from leave behind?
Leave out means failing or choosing not to include an item in a list, plan, recipe, or group. Leave behind refers to physical location, meaning you forgot to take an object with you when departing, or you advanced past something physically or metaphorically.
I left the onions out of the soup because my brother dislikes them.
I left my umbrella behind in the conference room yesterday.
Can left out be used as an adjective?
Yes. In the common expression feel left out, the phrase left out functions as a predicate adjective describing emotional exclusion. It conveys that a person feels neglected, unwanted, or isolated from a group activity.
He sat quietly in the corner and looked left out.
She felt left out when her friends went to the cinema without calling her.
Before you go
Remember this
Use leave out when omitting information or items, lock pronouns in the middle position, and use felt left out when talking about social exclusion.
Stage 2 of 5
Listen
Hear it in real sentences, from short to long, and write what you hear.
0 of 4 done
Listening 1 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- I reviewed the schedule and realized we left out the lunch break.
- He felt left out when his classmates planned a weekend camping trip without him.
Read the transcript
Do not leave out a single name.
Leave out means omit; the instruction stresses including every single person.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In not leave, listen for no(t) leave. The t may be hard to hear before leave.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In not leave, listen for no(t) leave. The t may be hard to hear before leave.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In not leave, listen for no(t) leave. The t may be hard to hear before leave.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- I reviewed the schedule and realized we left out the lunch break.
- He felt left out when his classmates planned a weekend camping trip without him.
Read the transcript
The new clerk felt left out when colleagues ate together.
Felt left out expresses the emotional sadness of being socially excluded from a group.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In left out, listen for lef-tout. The final t links to out.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In American English this t sounds like a quick, soft d.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In left out, listen for lef-tout. The final t links to out.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- In left out, listen for lef-tout. The final t links to out.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
- In American English this t sounds like a quick, soft d.
Try a longer clip. Listen once, then replay the part you missed.
Listening 3 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- I reviewed the schedule and realized we left out the lunch break.
- He felt left out when his classmates planned a weekend camping trip without him.
Read the transcript
If an ingredient costs too much, you can leave it out. A simple sauce still tastes wonderful with olive oil and fresh garlic.
Leave it out shows correct pronoun placement when choosing not to include an ingredient.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In it out, listen for i-tout. The final t links to the start of out.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In it out, listen for i-tout. The final t links to the start of out.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In it out, listen for i-tout. The final t links to the start of out.
This clip is longer. Follow the instruction above the answer field.
Listening 4 of 4
Listen, then type the missing words. The rest of the text is already there.
0:00
- I reviewed the schedule and realized we left out the lunch break.
- He felt left out when his classmates planned a weekend camping trip without him.
Read the transcript
While revising our training booklet, our supervisor told us to leave out all extra charts. She said that new workers only need basic steps during their first week. If an explanation seems too complicated, we will leave it out and cover those technical items later. Everyone felt that a shorter guide would help beginners learn faster.
The speaker uses leave out twice to describe omitting complex information from an introductory manual.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- In out all, listen for ou-tall. The t links to the start of all.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
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Save my progressStage 3 of 5
Speak
Say it with the speaker, then use it in your own answer.
Shadow
Say it along with the speaker
Do not leave out a single name.
Play the line slowly, then speak at the same time as the speaker. Copy the rhythm, not just the words.
Your turn
Say it your way
Speak for 30 to 60 seconds from memory about packing your bag for your first day at a new job. Explain what you need, what you can leave out, and how you will check that you have everything.
Use: leave out leave it out left out
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0:00
Hear how someone else might say it
For my first day at my new job, I want to pack a small bag. I'll take my phone, a notebook, a pen, and my lunch. I'll leave out my large headphones because they take up too much space. I usually carry a book, too, but I'll leave it out this time. At my last job, I once left out my door key and had to wait outside. This time, I'll put my key in the front pocket and check my bag before I leave home.
Try once more and answer this: What is the most useful thing in your bag?
Stage 4 of 5
Write
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Write
Put it in your own words
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- It is about my life, not the lesson’s example.
- I read it once aloud to check it sounds right.
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