Phrasal verb
leave sb/sth out
Definition
phrasal verb. to not include someone or something in an activity, list, or group.
phrasal verb. to omit a person or item from a collection, group, or sequence, either intentionally or by oversight.
Examples
“Please don't leave me out of the game.”
“She felt sad when her friends left her out of the party plans.”
“The editor decided to leave out the final chapter to ensure the manuscript met the publisher's strict length requirements.”
Examples
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.”
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.
Phrasal verb
Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
leave (+ object) + out