Having something done with lassen
When you pay or arrange for someone else to do a job for you—like cutting your hair, dry cleaning a jacket, or fixing your car—German uses the verb lassen. In this context, it translates to "having something done".
lassen is an irregular verb. Notice the vowel change for the du and er/sie/es forms:
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|
| ich | lasse |
| du | lässt |
| er/sie/es | lässt |
| wir | lassen |
| ihr | lasst |
| sie/Sie | lassen |
In these sentences, lassen acts very much like a modal verb. The conjugated form of lassen takes the second position in the sentence, while the action being performed on your behalf gets pushed to the very end as an infinitive.
When getting a service done for yourself, especially relating to your body or appearance (like your hair), German often pairs lassen with a dative reflexive pronoun like mir (for myself) or sich (for him/herself).
Everyday errands
For general objects and errands, you simply use lassen with the direct object. No reflexive pronoun is needed. Remember to keep the action you are having done at the very end of the sentence.
You can use this exact same sentence structure for all sorts of everyday services, from getting your car fixed to taking your pet to the vet.
Commands with lassen
If you want to instruct someone to get a task done, you can use the imperative (command) form. For the informal singular ("du"), this form is simply lass.