Breakdown of Je vous laisse importer ce fromage si vous avez la déclaration.
je
I
vous
you (plural/formal)
avoir
to have
ce
this (before a noun)
le fromage
the cheese
si
if
laisser
to leave (something or someone)
la déclaration
the statement
importer
to import
Questions & Answers about Je vous laisse importer ce fromage si vous avez la déclaration.
How does the structure of letting someone do something work in this sentence?
You conjugate laisser for the person giving permission (here, Je) and use the infinitive for the action being permitted (here, importer). The person receiving permission (vous) is treated as the object of laisser.
Why is vous placed before laisse instead of right before importer?
When using laisser + infinitive, the object pronoun (like vous) must go before laisser. This is a special rule for verbs like laisser, faire, and verbs of perception like voir or entendre. In most other two-verb structures, the pronoun would go between the verbs, but not here!
Why do we use ce for 'this' instead of cet or cette?
Why is avez in the present tense if importing the cheese is a future possibility?
Just like in English, French uses the present tense directly after si (if) for open conditions. You cannot use the future tense right after si, so si vous avez (if you have) is the correct structure.
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