låta is a strong verb that does two quite different everyday jobs. First, it means "to let" or "to have (someone do something)" — the permissive/causative verb in Låt mig hjälpa dig ("Let me help you") and Jag lät honom gå ("I let him go"). Second, it means "to sound" — Det låter bra, "that sounds good." The forms are låta–låter–lät–låtit, and the form to nail is the past lät, with an ä.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| låta | låter | lät | låtit | låt | strong |
The vowels: infinitive and present keep å (låta, låter), the past is lät with ä, and the supine returns to å in låtit — used after ha for the perfect (har låtit). The imperative is låt (very common: Låt bli!, "Don't!" / "Leave it!"). A past participle is rare in everyday use. Do not confuse the past lät with the noun låt ("a song, a track") — same letters in the imperative, different word.
Låt mig veta om du behöver hjälp.
Let me know if you need help. låt — imperative, the permissive sense.
Jag lät honom låna bilen i helgen.
I let him borrow the car over the weekend. lät — strong past with ä. This is the form to memorise.
Vi har låtit barnen bestämma själva.
We've let the children decide for themselves. har låtit — perfect, supine vowel back to å.
Use 1: låta + (object) + infinitive — "let / have someone do"
This is the causative-permissive frame: låta + an object + a bare infinitive (no att). It covers both "let" (allow) and "have/make" (cause), exactly like English "let someone do" and "have someone do." Crucially, the following infinitive takes no att.
Låt mig hjälpa dig med väskorna.
Let me help you with the bags. låta + mig + hjälpa — bare infinitive, no att.
Hon lät bilen stå kvar på stationen.
She left the car at the station. låta + bilen + stå — 'let it stay / leave it standing'.
Vi lät en hantverkare måla om köket.
We had a tradesman repaint the kitchen. låta here = 'have someone do it' (causative).
A very common fixed expression is låta bli ("to refrain, leave alone, not do"): Jag kunde inte låta bli att skratta ("I couldn't help laughing").
Låt bli att röra mina papper!
Leave my papers alone! / Don't touch my papers! låt bli — refrain from / don't.
Use 2: låta — "to sound"
Låta also means "to sound" — how something comes across to the ear, or how an idea/plan strikes you. This is the verb behind the everyday reactions Det låter bra ("That sounds good") and Det låter konstigt ("That sounds strange").
Det låter bra — vi ses klockan sju.
Sounds good — see you at seven. Det låter bra is the standard 'sounds good'.
Hur lät det? Var jag tydlig?
How did it sound? Was I clear? lät — past of the 'sound' sense.
Förslaget låter dyrt, men vi kan räkna på det.
The proposal sounds expensive, but we can do the maths on it. låta + adjective = 'sound (a certain way)'.
One verb, two senses — how to tell them apart
It is the same verb; structure disambiguates. With an object + infinitive, it is "let/have" (Jag lät honom gå). With an adjective or adverb describing an impression — bra, konstigt, dyrt — it is "sound" (Det låter bra). Context never leaves it genuinely ambiguous.
Lät du honom köra? — Nej, det lät för riskabelt.
Did you let him drive? — No, it sounded too risky. First lät = 'let' (+ infinitive), second lät = 'sounded' (+ adjective).
Common Mistakes
❌ Hon lätade honom gå.
Incorrect — låta is strong, no -ade. The regularisation trap: the past is lät, not *lätade.
✅ Hon lät honom gå.
She let him go. Strong past with ä: lät.
❌ Låt mig att hjälpa dig.
Incorrect — after låta the infinitive is bare: no att.
✅ Låt mig hjälpa dig.
Let me help you. låta + infinitive, no att.
❌ Vi har lät barnen sova länge.
Incorrect — lät is the PAST; after har you need the supine låtit.
✅ Vi har låtit barnen sova länge.
We've let the children sleep in. Supine: låtit.
❌ Det ljuder bra! (meaning 'that sounds good')
Off — for 'that sounds good / that's a good idea' Swedish says Det låter bra, not ljuder (ljuda is a technical 'emit sound').
✅ Det låter bra!
That sounds good!
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