The irregular verb "lassen" in German
Meaning of "lassen" in German
The verb "lassen" means:
1.-to leave (in the sense of leaving something / someone at some place)
Lassen Sie den Wagen hier
Leave the car here
Warum hast du mich allein gelassen?
Why did you leave me alone?
2.-to let, to permit (in the sense of giving permission [affirmative] or prohibiting [negative])
Ich lasse dich nicht gehen
I'm not letting you go
3.-to leave (leaving options, doubts, etc.)
Er hat keinen Zweifel gelassen
He left me with no doubt
delegating some task
Ich will den Arzt holen lassen
I’ll have the doctor called
Wo kann man einen Laptop reparieren lassen?
Where can you have a laptop repaired?
Structure: lassen + [accusative] (what is left)
Expressions:
Lass mich in Ruhe!
Leave me alone!
Grammar of "lassen"
"lassen" is an irregular verb.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lassen | lässt | ließ | gelassen | to leave, to permit |
Alternative imperative form ("lass uns" / "lasst uns")
With the structure:
lass uns / lasst uns + [infinitive]
The first person plural is used for the construction:
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person plural | lass uns gehen | let’s go |
| 2nd person plural | lasst uns gehen | let’s go |
When to use "lass uns" or "lasst uns"
In both cases, it deals with the first person plural but "lass uns" is for me and a single interlocutor (For example: My mom):
lass uns essen
let’s eat
In comparison, if I have several interlocutors (Ex: My mom and my dad):
lasst uns essen
let’s eat (you are saying “let’s eat” to more than one person, thus the –t ending)
Main article: The imperative
Conjugation of "lassen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich lasse | I let |
| du lässt | you let |
| er lässt | he lets |
| wir lassen | we let |
| ihr lasst | you let |
| sie lassen | they let |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe gelassen / lassen | I have left/let |
| du hast gelassen / lassen | you have left/let |
| er hat gelassen / lassen | he has left/let |
| wir haben gelassen / lassen | we have left/let |
| ihr habt gelassen / lassen | you have left/let |
| sie haben gelassen / lassen | they have left/let |
Aus Schreck habe ich die Teller fallen lassen
I let the plates fall because I was scared
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich ließ | I left |
| du ließt | you left |
| er ließ | he left |
| wir ließen | we left |
| ihr ließt | you left |
| sie ließen | they left |
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich ließe |
| du ließest |
| er ließe |
| wir ließen |
| ihr ließet |
| sie ließen |
Participle (Partizip)
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| lassend (leaving) | gelassen (left) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | lass | leave/let's |
| 2nd person plural | lasst | leave/let's |
| Polite form | lassen Sie | leave/let's |
Verbs with the stem "lassen"
There are hundreds of verbs with the stem "lassen". We’ll show you the main ones:
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| anlassen | to start (motor) (separable verb) |
| entlassen | to fire, to dismiss (inseparable verb) |
| erlassen | to excuse (inseparable verb) |
| nachlassen | to decrease (separable verb) |
| überlassen | to leave, to surrender (inseparable verb) |
| zerlassen | to melt (inseparable verb) |
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