ENGLISH
REFERENCE

leave sb/sth out

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to not include someone or something in an activity, list, or group.

phr. v.. to omit a person or item from a collection, group, or sequence, either intentionally or by oversight.


SIMPLE

Please don't leave me out of the game.

CONTEXTUAL

She felt sad when her friends left her out of the party plans.

COMPLEX

The editor decided to leave out the final chapter to ensure the manuscript met the publisher's strict length requirements.

Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
leave (+ object) + out
Usage

often used with the preposition 'of' when specifying the group or activity.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'exclude' (more formal) and 'forget' (implies only accidental omission); 'leave out' is the standard neutral choice for both accidental and purposeful exclusion.

Pitfall

They left out him.They left him out.when the object is a pronoun like 'him' or 'it', it must go between the verb and the particle.

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