Lassen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Lassen means “to let, to leave”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for lassen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with lassen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich lasse das Buch hier.” — “I leave the book here.”
- “Du lässt mich in Ruhe.” — “You leave me alone.”
- “Ich habe den Hund im Garten gelassen.” — “I have left the dog in the garden.”
- “Er ließ das Buch hier.” — “He left the book here.”
- “Wir werden mich in Ruhe lassen.” — “We will leave me alone.”
- “Du hast den Hund im Garten gelassen.” — “You have left the dog in the garden.”
- “Ich ließe das Buch hier.” — “I would leave the book here.”
- “Er lasse mich in Ruhe.” — “He leaves me alone.”
- “Wir hatten den Hund im Garten gelassen.” — “We had left the dog in the garden.”
- “Er wird das Buch hier lassen.” — “He will leave the book here.”
- “Sie lassen mich in Ruhe.” — “They leave me alone.”
- “Lass den Hund im Garten!” — “Leave the dog in the garden!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about the book here. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how lassen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of lassen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Lässt du das Buch hier?” — “You leave the book here?” Jonas: “Ich lasse das Buch hier.” — “I leave the book here.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde mich in Ruhe lassen.” — “I will leave me alone.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe den Hund im Garten gelassen.” — “I have left the dog in the garden.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich ließe das Buch hier.” — “I would leave the book here.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Lassen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of lassen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, lassen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is lasse: “Ich lasse das Buch hier.” — “I leave the book here.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, lassen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is ließ: “Er ließ mich in Ruhe.” — “He left me alone.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, lassen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gelassen. The ich form is habe gelassen: “Ich habe den Hund im Garten gelassen.” — “I have left the dog in the garden.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, lassen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden lassen: “Wir werden das Buch hier lassen.” — “We will leave the book here.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, lassen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is ließest: “Du ließest mich in Ruhe.” — “You would leave me alone.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, lassen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is lasse: “Er lasse den Hund im Garten.” — “He leaves the dog in the garden.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich lassen das Buch hier.”
✓ Right: “Ich lasse das Buch hier.”
The infinitive lassen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form lasse.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du lasse das Buch hier.”
✓ Right: “Du lässt das Buch hier.”
lasse is the ich form. With du you need lässt. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich lasse das Buch hier gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe das Buch hier gelassen.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gelassen, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich lasse das Buch hier.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich lasse das Buch hier.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: lasse, not the indicative lasse.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gelassen das Buch hier.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe das Buch hier gelassen.”
The Perfekt of lassen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gelassen: the full ich form is habe gelassen.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on lassen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of lassen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lasse
- B) lässt
- C) lassen
- D) lasst
What is the du form of lassen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lassen
- B) lasst
- C) lässt
- D) lasse
What is the er/sie/es form of lassen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben gelassen
- B) hat gelassen
- C) habe gelassen
- D) hast gelassen
What is the wir form of lassen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) ließen
- B) ließ
- C) ließt
- D) lassen
What is the du form of lassen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden lassen
- B) wirst lassen
- C) werde lassen
- D) wird lassen
What is the ich form of lassen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) ließen
- B) ließet
- C) ließe
- D) ließest
What is the er/sie/es form of lassen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) lasse
- B) lassest
- C) lassen
- D) lasset
What is the ich form of lassen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte gelassen
- B) hattest gelassen
- C) hatten gelassen
- D) hattet gelassen
What is the past participle of lassen?
- A) gearbeitet
- B) gespielt
- C) gelassen
- D) gebracht
What does lassen mean in English?
- A) to let, to leave
- B) to bring
- C) to work
- D) to play
Answer key
- A) lasse — the ich form of lassen in the Present (Präsens) is lasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) lässt — the du form of lassen in the Present (Präsens) is lässt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hat gelassen — the er/sie/es form of lassen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gelassen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ließen — the wir form of lassen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is ließen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst lassen — the du form of lassen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst lassen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ließe — the ich form of lassen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is ließe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) lasse — the er/sie/es form of lassen in the Konjunktiv I is lasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatte gelassen — the ich form of lassen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gelassen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) gelassen — the past participle of lassen is gelassen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to let, to leave — lassen means “to let, to leave” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does lassen mean in English?
lassen means “to let, to leave”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is lassen regular or irregular?
lassen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is lassend and the past participle is gelassen.
How do I practise lassen every day?
Say one sentence with lassen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich lasse das Buch hier.”, “Ich habe das Buch hier gelassen.” and “Ich werde das Buch hier lassen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for lassen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of lassen — every tense of lassen in one place.
- Lassen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Lassen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Bringen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Arbeiten conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Spielen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise lassen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise lassen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise lassen with the interactive tool.