Bitte lass das Fenster offen.

the window

Breakdown of Bitte lass das Fenster offen.

• bitte: please
• offen: open
• lassen: to leave

Questions & Answers about Bitte lass das Fenster offen.

What verb form is lass, and why not lasse/lässt/lassen?

Lass is the second-person singular imperative of lassen (“to let/leave”). The imperative for du drops the pronoun and usually the ending.

• Present (for orientation): ich lasse, du lässt, er/sie/es lässt, wir lassen, ihr lasst
• Imperatives: du lass!, ihr lasst!, Sie lassen Sie!

Why is du missing?

Imperatives normally omit the subject pronoun. You could add du for emphasis or contrast (Lass du das Fenster offen.), but the neutral request is simply Lass ….

How would I say this formally or to more than one person?

• Formal (Sie): Bitte lassen Sie das Fenster offen.
• Plural (ihr): Bitte lasst das Fenster offen. Same meaning; just different levels of formality or number.

What does Bitte do, and where can it go?