Question 1

How does the verb lassen work together with färben in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Here, lassen is used as a causative verb. This means the subject is causing an action to happen rather than doing it themselves. By combining the conjugated verb lässt in the second position with the infinitive färben at the very end, the sentence expresses that the mother has someone else (the hairdresser) dye her hair.

Question 2

Why do we need the reflexive pronoun sich here, and is it in the accusative or dative case?

Accepted Answer

It is in the dative case. We use sich to show that she is having the hair dyed for herself. Because the sentence already has a direct object receiving the action in the accusative case (die Haare), the reflexive pronoun must step down into the dative case.

Question 3

Why does the sentence use die Haare instead of ihre Haare to mean her hair?

Accepted Answer

In German, when referring to body parts, you almost always use the definite article (die) instead of a possessive word like ihre. Ownership is already established by the dative reflexive pronoun sich earlier in the sentence, making ihre unnecessary.

Question 4

What does beim stand for in beim Friseur?

Accepted Answer

The word beim is a common contraction of the preposition bei and the dative masculine article dem. The preposition bei is the standard way to say you are at a person's home or a professional's place of business, so beim Friseur is how you say at the hairdresser.

Meine Mutter lässt sich beim Friseur oft die Haare färben.

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