Breakdown of Wir lassen die Batterie im Motorrad wechseln, bevor wir in den Urlaub fahren.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
wir
we
bevor
before
fahren
to go
der Urlaub
the vacation
die Batterie
the battery
das Motorrad
the motorcycle
lassen
to let, have
wechseln
to change
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Questions & Answers about Wir lassen die Batterie im Motorrad wechseln, bevor wir in den Urlaub fahren.
What is the role of lassen in this sentence?
Here lassen is used as a causative verb, meaning “to have (something) done.” In Wir lassen die Batterie … wechseln, we aren’t changing the battery ourselves but arranging for someone else to do it. A natural English equivalent is “We’ll have/get the battery changed.”
Why is there no zu before wechseln?
After lassen (and after all modal or modal‐like verbs) you attach a bare infinitive—no zu. That’s why it’s lassen wechseln, not lassen zu wechseln.
Why does wechseln appear at the end of the main clause?
In German main clauses the finite verb (lassen) sits in second position, and any infinitive complement (here wechseln) goes to the end. This word order is typical whenever you have a finite verb plus an infinitive.
Why is it im Motorrad and not something like am Motorrad?
im is a contraction of in dem and specifies that the battery is inside the motorcycle’s frame or compartment. You could say am Motorrad (at the motorcycle), but im Motorrad is more precise: it literally means “in the motorcycle.”
Why is it in den Urlaub (accusative) rather than in dem Urlaub (dative)?
The preposition in is a Wechselpräposition (two‐way preposition). When it expresses movement toward a destination (as with fahren), it takes the accusative. So in den Urlaub fahren means “to go on vacation,” with den Urlaub in the accusative.
Why is there a comma before bevor, and why does fahren go to the end of the subordinate clause?
German subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like bevor must be separated by a comma. Inside such clauses, the finite verb moves to the very end. Hence the structure:
, bevor wir in den Urlaub fahren.
Could lassen here be mistaken for “to allow/let”? How do you tell which meaning it has?
Lassen can mean both “to let/allow” and “to have something done.” Context and sentence structure help you decide. When it’s followed directly by a bare infinitive describing an action you’re arranging—and especially when there’s an explicit object—it’s the causative sense (“have/get something done”). If you meant “allow,” you’d often see different context or additional words (e.g. Er lässt mich nie an sein Motorrad = “He never lets me near his motorcycle”). In our sentence the focus is on arranging the battery change, not giving permission.