Breakdown of Ich lasse meine Tasche im Auto liegen.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
das Auto
the car
ich
I
die Tasche
the bag
mein
my
liegen lassen
to leave
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ich lasse meine Tasche im Auto liegen.
What does lassen mean in this sentence?
Here lassen doesn’t mean “to allow” but “to leave (behind).”
– Ich lasse meine Tasche im Auto liegen. = “I leave my bag in the car (and it stays lying there).”
– It’s a causative construction: you “let” the bag remain in that state.
Why is liegen used instead of legen?
German distinguishes between:
- legen (transitive): to lay something down
- liegen (intransitive): to lie, to be in a lying position
With lassen + object + infinitive, you express the resulting state. You’re not actively “laying” (legen) the bag, you’re leaving it “lying” (liegen).
Why does liegen appear at the very end of the sentence?
Because in German main clauses with a non-modal auxiliary (like lassen + infinitive), the finite verb is in second position and the infinitive goes to the end (verb-final rule for infinitive clauses).
What case is meine Tasche, and why?
Tasche is the direct object of lassen, so it takes the accusative:
– Nominative: die Tasche → Accusative: die Tasche → with “mein-” → meine Tasche
What case is im Auto, and why?
im = in dem. Here in indicates location (wo?), so it takes the dative:
– Dative singular neuter: dem Auto → contracted to im Auto
Why use im instead of in dem? Can I say in dem Auto?
Yes, in dem Auto is grammatically correct but more formal/old-fashioned. im is simply the very common contraction of in dem in spoken and written German.
Can I swap meine Tasche and im Auto? For example, “Ich lasse im Auto meine Tasche liegen”?
Yes. Both orders are correct:
– Ich lasse meine Tasche im Auto liegen.
– Ich lasse im Auto meine Tasche liegen.
You only shift the emphasis (location first vs. the bag first).
Could I omit liegen and just say “Ich lasse meine Tasche im Auto”?
No. Without liegen the sentence feels incomplete, because lassen here requires an infinitive to express what you’re leaving (the resulting action/state).