lassen — German conjugation
to let (to allow or permit)
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | lasse | I let |
| du | lässt | you let |
| er/sie/es | lässt | he/she/it lets |
| wir | lassen | we let |
| ihr | lasst | you (pl.) let |
| sie/Sie | lassen | they let |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | ließ | I let |
| du | ließest | you let |
| er/sie/es | ließ | he/she/it let |
| wir | ließen | we let |
| ihr | ließt | you (pl.) let |
| sie/Sie | ließen | they let |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | habe gelassen | I have let |
| du | hast gelassen | you have let |
| er/sie/es | hat gelassen | he/she/it has let |
| wir | haben gelassen | we have let |
| ihr | habt gelassen | you (pl.) have let |
| sie/Sie | haben gelassen | they have let |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hatte gelassen | I had let |
| du | hattest gelassen | you had let |
| er/sie/es | hatte gelassen | he/she/it had let |
| wir | hatten gelassen | we had let |
| ihr | hattet gelassen | you (pl.) had let |
| sie/Sie | hatten gelassen | they had let |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde lassen | I will let |
| du | wirst lassen | you will let |
| er/sie/es | wird lassen | he/she/it will let |
| wir | werden lassen | we will let |
| ihr | werdet lassen | you (pl.) will let |
| sie/Sie | werden lassen | they will let |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde gelassen haben | I will have let |
| du | wirst gelassen haben | you will have let |
| er/sie/es | wird gelassen haben | he/she/it will have let |
| wir | werden gelassen haben | we will have let |
| ihr | werdet gelassen haben | you (pl.) will have let |
| sie/Sie | werden gelassen haben | they will have let |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | ließe |
| du | ließest |
| er/sie/es | ließe |
| wir | ließen |
| ihr | ließet |
| sie/Sie | ließen |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | lasse |
| ihr | lasst |