At border control, customs officers have the authority to allow people and goods to pass, or to stop them. To express letting someone do something, or allowing an action to happen naturally, French uses the verb laisser (to let or to allow) combined with an infinitive.
The standard formula is straightforward:
Conjugated laisser + Object + Infinitive
However, when the object is a noun, French speakers frequently place it after the infinitive. Both word orders are correct and mean exactly the same thing.
Refusing permission
To express that someone or something is not allowed to proceed, simply frame the conjugated verb laisser with ne and pas.
Using object pronouns
Often, you will want to replace the person or thing being allowed to act with a direct object pronoun (such as le, la, les, or vous). As is standard in French, this pronoun must be placed directly before the conjugated verb laisser.
When you combine an object pronoun with a negative sentence, the ne comes first, followed by the pronoun, the conjugated laisser, and finally pas (or another negative word like jamais).
