Il suffit que nous partions cinq minutes plus tôt pour déposer le bébé à la crèche sans nous presser.

Il suffit que is a very common French structure meaning it is enough that or all it takes is for.

• il here is an impersonal subject. It does not refer to a real he.
• suffit comes from suffire = to be enough / to suffice.
• que introduces a subordinate clause.

So Il suffit que nous partions... literally means something like:

• It is enough that we leave...
• more naturally in English: We just need to leave...

French often uses this impersonal il in expressions like:

• Il faut... = It is necessary...
• Il semble... = It seems...
• Il suffit... = It is enough...

Because il suffit que is followed by the subjunctive, not the indicative.

So:

• nous partons = present indicative = we are leaving / we leave
• que nous partions = present subjunctive

After expressions like il faut que, bien que, avant que, and il suffit que, French normally uses the subjunctive.

Here:

• Il suffit que nous partions...

The idea is not simply stating a fact; it presents what is required or enough for the result to happen.

Partions is the present subjunctive form of partir for nous.

The present subjunctive of partir is:

• que je parte
• que tu partes
• qu’il/elle/on parte
• que nous partions
• que vous partiez
• qu’ils/elles partent

It looks unusual if you are used to the present indicative:

• nous partons = indicative
• que nous partions = subjunctive

Yes, in many contexts French could also use Il suffit de + infinitive.

For example:

• Il suffit de partir cinq minutes plus tôt...

That would mean:

• You / we just need to leave five minutes earlier...

Why use que nous partions instead?

Because this version explicitly names the subject:

• nous = we

So the difference is roughly:

• Il suffit de partir... = a more general or less explicitly stated subject
• Il suffit que nous partions... = specifically it’s enough for us to leave...

Both are possible in many real-life situations, but the sentence you were given emphasizes we.

Cinq minutes plus tôt means five minutes earlier.

Breakdown:

• cinq minutes = five minutes
• plus tôt = earlier

French commonly forms comparisons of time this way:

• plus tôt = earlier
• plus tard = later

So:

• partir cinq minutes plus tôt = to leave five minutes earlier

This is more natural in French than trying to translate English word-for-word with something like more early.

Examples:

• Viens un peu plus tôt. = Come a little earlier.
• On arrivera plus tard. = We’ll arrive later.

Pour introduces the purpose or goal of leaving earlier.

So:

• partir cinq minutes plus tôt = leave five minutes earlier
• pour déposer le bébé à la crèche = in order to drop off the baby at daycare

In other words, it answers why?

A very literal structure would be:

• It is enough that we leave five minutes earlier in order to drop off the baby at daycare...

This use of pour + infinitive is extremely common in French for expressing purpose:

• Je travaille pour gagner de l’argent. = I work to earn money.
• Elle se lève tôt pour prendre le train. = She gets up early to catch the train.

Here à is the normal preposition for going to or leaving someone at a place/institution such as daycare, school, or work.

So:

• déposer le bébé à la crèche = drop the baby off at daycare

Using dans would focus more on the physical inside of the building, which is not the normal choice here.

Compare:

• à l’école = at/to school
• à la crèche = at/to daycare
• au bureau = at/to the office

Also, crèche in this context usually means nursery or daycare.

Literally, déposer can mean to put down or to deposit, but in everyday French it is also commonly used for dropping someone off somewhere.

Here:

• déposer le bébé à la crèche = drop the baby off at daycare

This is a very natural use.

Similar examples:

• Je te dépose à la gare. = I’ll drop you off at the station.
• Il a déposé les enfants à l’école. = He dropped the children off at school.

So in this sentence, déposer is not about physically placing the baby somewhere in a literal sense; it means taking the baby to daycare and leaving them there.

Sans nous presser means without rushing or without hurrying.

Grammar:

• sans = without
• followed by an infinitive: presser
• but here the verb is reflexive: se presser = to hurry

So:

• nous presser = to hurry ourselves
• sans nous presser = without hurrying ourselves

In natural English, we usually just say:

• without rushing
• without having to rush

French often uses sans + infinitive where English uses without + -ing:

• sans parler = without speaking
• sans attendre = without waiting
• sans se dépêcher = without hurrying

They are doing two different jobs.

1. nous partions

   • nous is the subject
   • it means we
   • we leave

2. nous presser

   • nous is a reflexive pronoun
   • it means something like ourselves
   • to hurry ourselves

So the first nous tells you who is doing the action, and the second nous belongs to the reflexive verb se presser.

This is very common in French:

• Nous devons nous dépêcher.
• first nous = subject = we
• second nous = reflexive object = ourselves
• meaning: We must hurry.

It comes at the end because it qualifies the overall result or manner of the action: we can leave a bit earlier in order to drop off the baby, without rushing.

French often places this kind of phrase after the main action it comments on.

So the overall structure is:

• Il suffit que nous partions cinq minutes plus tôt
• pour déposer le bébé à la crèche
• sans nous presser

You can think of it as:

1. what is enough?
2. for what purpose?
3. under what conditions / in what manner?

That final phrase sounds very natural there.

They are very close in meaning.

• se presser = to hurry
• se dépêcher = to hurry / to make haste

In many contexts, they can be translated the same way.

Here:

• sans nous presser = without rushing
• sans nous dépêcher would also be possible in many situations

A small nuance:

• se dépêcher is often a very common everyday verb for hurry up
• se presser can sound slightly more like to rush oneself

But both are normal and useful.

It is basically neutral, natural French.

Nothing in it is especially formal or especially slangy.

A few notes:

• bébé is completely normal
• crèche is standard vocabulary for daycare/nursery
• il suffit que is a normal written and spoken structure

So this sentence would fit comfortably in everyday speech, parenting contexts, and ordinary writing.