Learn Hardcore German: Lass uns heute den Kofferraum aufräumen, bevor wir einkaufen gehen. - Let's tidy up the trunk today before we go shopping.

lass uns literally means “let us,” i.e. English “let’s.” It comes from the du-imperative of the verb lassen (lass) plus the pronoun uns. In everyday informal German you say lass uns (singular “you let us”) or, if you’re addressing a group directly, lasst uns (ihr-imperative). The form lassen wir is the formal 1st-person-plural imperative (“let us”) but is quite rare in spoken German.

Why is lass at the very beginning of the sentence?

Because it’s an imperative. In German imperatives the finite verb comes first. So lass (the command form of lassen) leads the clause.

Why is heute placed before den Kofferraum, and could we move it elsewhere?

heute is a time adverb and normally sits in the “time” slot of the middle field. Here it appears before the object (den Kofferraum), but you could also say Lass uns den Kofferraum heute aufräumen with no change in meaning. German allows some flexibility in adverb placement as long as the imperative verb stays first.

Why do we say den Kofferraum and not der or dem?

Kofferraum is a masculine noun, and because it’s the direct object of aufräumen, it takes the accusative case, which for masculine nouns is den.

Why is aufräumen one word at the end of the main clause rather than split into auf räumen, and why is it final?

aufräumen is a separable verb (prefix auf + verb räumen), but when you use it as an infinitive (after verbs like lassen), the prefix stays attached and the infinitive as a whole moves to the end of the clause.

Why is there a comma before bevor wir einkaufen gehen, and what effect does bevor have on word order?

bevor is a subordinating conjunction meaning “before.” German requires a comma before every subordinate clause. In a subordinate clause introduced by bevor, the finite verb (gehen) must go to the very end.

Why is the order einkaufen gehen, with einkaufen before gehen, and not the other way around?

In a subordinate clause with a verb cluster, non-finite verbs (here einkaufen) precede the finite verb (gehen) at the end. Plus, einkaufen gehen is a set phrase meaning “to go shopping.”

What exactly is einkaufen gehen? Is einkaufen a noun or a verb here?

It’s a two-part verb phrase: einkaufen is the non-finite verb “to shop,” and gehen is the finite verb “to go.” Together they mean “to go shopping.” Neither part is a noun in this construction.

Why is the present tense gehen used to talk about an action that will happen later today?

In German you often use the present tense with a time adverb (here heute) to express a planned near-future action. A separate future tense (with werden) isn’t necessary for something happening later the same day.

Can the bevor-clause come first in the sentence, and what changes if it does?

Yes. You can say Bevor wir einkaufen gehen, lass uns heute den Kofferraum aufräumen. You still need the comma, the subordinate-clause verb stays at the end, and in the main clause the imperative lass remains in first position.