3.16 The imperative and lassen — Epoché
What you will be able to do Give commands in all the forms German uses: the three imperatives, gehen wir! for let's go , and the infinitive on signs, bitte nicht rauchen . Use lassen in its three meanings: leave , let , and have something done . Build lass uns and lassen Sie uns , the German let's . Form the perfect of lassen with another infinitive: ich habe mir die Haare schneiden lassen . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Lass es mich mal probieren. [1] Let me have a try at it. Lasst es uns probieren! [2] Let's try! Sie ließen ihn frei. [3] They released him. Geh bitte nicht! Lass mich hier nicht allein! [4] Please don't go. Don't leave me alone here. Mein Vater lässt mich nicht allein ins Kino gehen. [5] My dad doesn't let me go to the cinema alone. Das kommt gar nicht in Frage, dass ich dich hier allein lasse! [6] There's no way I'm going to leave you alone here. Prerequisites : 3.15 — you need the imperative from 2.13 Grammar , the modal verbs and their bracket from 3.4 Verbs , and the dative reflexive from 3.13 Verbs . This lesson closes the verb volume of the phase with two practical topics. The first is commands: you know the three imperatives from the first phase, and here you add the forms Germans use for suggestions and on public signs. The second is a single verb, lassen , which does the work of three English verbs. It is one of the twenty most frequent verbs in German, and it is used in a way that English speakers do not expect. Table lassen is strong, with a vowel change in the second and third person singular. The imperative, in the second table, is used constantly. Person Present Simple past ich lasse ließ du lässt ließt er, sie, es lässt ließ wir lassen ließen ihr lasst ließt sie, Sie lassen ließen Form of command Example Used for du imperative Lass das! one person you say du to ihr imperative Lasst das! several people you say du to Sie imperative Lassen Sie das! anyone you say Sie to wir imperative Gehen wir! a suggestion including the speaker: let's lass uns + infinitive Lass uns gehen! the same, more informal infinitive Bitte nicht rauchen! signs, instructions, recipes How to read the endings Three meanings, told apart by what follows. lassen with an object and no infinitive means leave : Lass das da , leave that there . lassen with a person and an infinitive means let : Lass mich gehen , let me go . lassen with a thing and an infinitive means have something done : Ich lasse das Auto reparieren , I'm having the car repaired . The person who does the work is usually not mentioned. Whether the second or third meaning is intended depends on context. In practice it is rarely unclear: a car does not ask to be allowed to be repaired. lassen behaves like a modal. With an infinitive, lassen makes the same bracket as können or müssen : lassen second, the infinitive at the end, with no zu . The perfect with two infinitives. When lassen has an infinitive with it, its own perfect uses lassen instead of the participle gelassen : ich habe mir die Haare schneiden lassen . This double infinitive is the same pattern as the modals in the perfect, ich habe es machen müssen . Without an infinitive, the normal participle is used: ich habe es zu Hause gelassen . In real sentences Commands and suggestions. German English Lass das! [7] Stop that! Gehen wir! [8] Let's go! Gehen wir? [9] Shall we go? Lass uns gehen! [10] Let's go! Lassen Sie uns reden. [11] Let's have a chat. Bitte nicht rauchen! [12] Please refrain from smoking. Nicht rauchen während der Vorstellung! [13] Do not smoke during the performance. lassen — leave. German English Lass das da. [14] Leave that there. Lass es so! [15] Leave it as it is. Ich lasse dich nicht allein. [16] I'm not leaving you alone. lassen — let. German English Lass mich bitte gehen. [17] Please let me go. Er ließ uns gehen. [18] He let us go. Er ließ mich warten. [19] He kept me waiting. lassen — have something done. With a dative reflexive, the thing is done to or for yourself. German English Ich muss ihn reparieren lassen. [20] I must get it repaired. Ich muss mir die Haare schneiden lassen. [21] I must get my hair cut. Ich habe mir die Haare schneiden lassen. [22] I got my hair cut. A fixed phrase. sich Zeit lassen , literally to leave oneself time , means to take one's time . German English Lass dir Zeit! [23] Take your time. Er ließ sich Zeit. [24] He took his time. How English does it lassen is English let . The two verbs are the same word, and in older English let also meant leave , a sense still heard in let it be , let go and let alone . German kept all the meanings in one verb. English split them up between leave , let and the causative have or get : I had my hair cut , I'm getting the car repaired . Word order in the causative. English puts the participle after the object: have my hair cut . German puts the infinitive before lassen at the end: mir die Haare schneiden lassen . So the English participle cut corresponds to a German infinitive, schneiden . If you find yourself writing geschnitten lassen , switch to the infinitive. Let's in two forms. English let's is a contraction of let us , and German has the exact equivalent in lass uns . German also has a shorter form, the verb first followed by wir : Gehen wir! With Sie the formal version is Lassen Sie uns gehen . The wir form is the most neutral of the three. The infinitive as a command. English signs use the -ing form or a noun: No smoking , No parking . German uses the infinitive: Bitte nicht rauchen , and, as in 3.14 Verbs , Baden verboten . Recipes and instructions use the infinitive too: Zwiebeln schneiden , chop the onions . On signs and in instructions it sounds impersonal and neutral. Said straight to a person, as in Hinsetzen! or Aufstehen! , it is a curt, parade-ground order. New words Eight words, starting with the verb of the lesson. Word (article, plural) Meaning Notes lassen de to leave; to let