Today we’ll be talking about the verb LASSEN. Its primary meaning is TO LET or TO LEAVE but it’s widely used in many different contexts. First, let’s see how the verb is conjugated:
| Present Tense | Präteritum Tense | |
| ich | lasse | ließ |
| du | lässt | ließt |
| er / sie / es | lässt | ließ |
| wir | lassen | ließen |
| ihr | lasst | ließt |
| sie / Sie | lassen | ließen |
Now let’s discuss all the meanings one by one.
lassen = to let
First, LASSEN means TO LET. The noun or pronoun that follows must be in accusative case. Have a look:
| Sie ließ ihn nicht gehen. | She didn’t let him go. |
| Sie lässt ihren Sohn schnell fahren. | She allows her son to drive fast. |
| Lässt du mich deinen Hund streicheln? | Will you let me stroke your dog? |
| Das lasse ich euch nicht machen! | I won’t let you do that! |
lassen = to leave
In the following examples LASSEN means TO LEAVE:
| Er lässt seine Frau nie allein. | He will never leave his wife alone. |
| Lassen Sie Ihr Fahrrad hier! | Leave your bike here! |
| Lass mich bitte nicht hier! | Please, don’t leave me here! |
| Den Hund mussten wir draußen lassen. | We had to leave the dog outside. |
lassen = to have something done
The next meaning of LASSEN is TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE:
| Er muss sein Auto reparieren lassen. | He must have his car repaired. |
| Er ließ seinen Brief schreiben. | He had his letter written. |
| Wir lassen uns ein Haus bauen. | We’ll have a house built (for us). |
| Das Mädchen ließ sich einen Rock nähen. | The girl had a skirt sewed (for her). |
lassen = to stop doing something
LASSEN may also mean TO STOP DOING SOMETHING, TO REFRAIN FROM DOING SOMETHING:
| Lass das! | Leave that alone! |
| Du musst das Rauchen lassen. | You must stop smoking. |
| Ich kann das nicht lassen! | I can’t stop it! |
Imperative Contructions
The verb LASSEN is also used in imperative constructions like:
Let me think!
or
Let’s go!
Here’s how it’s used:
| Lass uns gehen! | Let’s go! (you’re saying that to just one person) |
| Lasst uns gehen! | Let’s go! (you’re saying that to more than one person) |
| Lass sie gehen! | Let them / her go! |
| Lass ihn gehen! | Let him go! |
These are the most typical use cases of the verb LASSEN, although not all.