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Questions & Answers about Wir lassen uns die Rechnung später bringen, dann geben wir Trinkgeld.
What does bold lassen mean here?
bold Lassen + infinitive (bold lassen … bringen) is causative: it means “to have/get something done.” So bold Wir lassen uns die Rechnung bringen means “We have the bill brought (to us),” i.e., we ask/arrange for someone to bring it. It is not “let” here.
- Parallel: bold Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden. = “I have my hair cut.”
Why is bold bringen at the end, and why is there no bold zu?
German main clauses are verb-second: the finite verb bold lassen sits in position 2, and the accompanying infinitive bold bringen goes to the clause’s end. With bold lassen (and also bold sehen, bold hören), you use a bare infinitive—no bold zu. So bold Wir lassen … bringen is correct; bold Wir lassen … zu bringen is wrong here.
What is bold uns doing, and what case is it?
bold Uns is the 1st‑person plural dative pronoun. The verb bold bringen takes a dative recipient and an accusative thing: bold jemandem (Dat.) etwas (Akk.) bringen. Here, bold uns marks the recipient (“bring the bill to us”). It’s “reflexive” only in the sense that the recipient is the same group as the subject.
Which case is bold die Rechnung, and why?
Accusative. bold Die Rechnung is the direct object of bold bringen. (Feminine nouns have bold die in both nominative and accusative, so you see bold die in either case.)
Can I omit bold uns (bold Wir lassen die Rechnung später bringen)?
Yes, it’s grammatical, but less specific. Without bold uns, it simply says you’re having the bill brought, without stating to whom. In context it may be understood, but bold uns is the natural way to say it’s brought to you.
Where else can I put bold später, and does the meaning change?
Both are fine and mean the same:
- bold Wir lassen uns die Rechnung später bringen. (neutral)
- bold Wir lassen uns später die Rechnung bringen. (slightly stronger focus on “later”) Avoid putting bold uns after the noun object here; pronouns typically precede noun objects in the middle field.
Why is there a comma before bold dann? Is that correct?
Yes. You have two main clauses: bold Wir lassen … bringen, and bold dann geben wir Trinkgeld. In German you may separate adjacent main clauses with a comma, or use a period/semicolon. Starting the second clause with the adverb bold dann is idiomatic for “then/after that.”
Could I write it with bold und dann instead?
Yes:
- bold Wir lassen uns die Rechnung später bringen und dann geben wir Trinkgeld. With bold und linking the clauses, you usually omit the comma. Writing bold …, und dann … with a comma is also acceptable when linking full clauses.
What’s the difference between bold später and bold dann here?
- bold später modifies the time of the first action (when the bill will be brought).
- bold dann sequences the second action relative to the first (“then, after that, we tip”). They don’t mean the same thing and can’t replace each other here.
How do I say this in the past?
- Conversational past (Perfekt): bold Wir haben uns die Rechnung später bringen lassen, dann haben wir Trinkgeld gegeben. Note the double infinitive bold bringen lassen (no bold gelassen here).
- Narrative past (Präteritum): bold Wir ließen uns die Rechnung später bringen, dann gaben wir Trinkgeld.
Why is there no article before bold Trinkgeld?
bold Trinkgeld is a mass/uncountable noun in this sense, so you normally use it without an article: bold Trinkgeld geben. Use an article when you specify an amount or refer to a particular tip:
- bold Wir geben 10 Euro Trinkgeld.
- bold Das Trinkgeld war großzügig. Plural bold Trinkgelder exists but is rare and used when talking about multiple tips as separate items.
How would I include who receives the tip?
Add a dative recipient to bold geben:
- bold Wir geben dem Kellner / der Kellnerin Trinkgeld. You can combine amount and recipient:
- bold Wir geben der Kellnerin 10 Euro Trinkgeld.
Can I use bold bekommen/kriegen instead of bold lassen?
You can, but the nuance changes.
- bold Wir bekommen die Rechnung später. = “We (will) receive the bill later.” (no explicit causing)
- bold Wir bekommen die Rechnung später gebracht. = “We get the bill brought (to us) later.” (so‑called “bekommen‑passive,” acceptable but less common here) bold Lassen makes it explicit that you arrange/ask for it: “have (someone) bring it.”
If both objects are pronouns, what’s the order?
When both objects are pronouns, the accusative pronoun usually comes before the dative pronoun:
- bold Wir lassen sie uns später bringen. (bold sie = die Rechnung) bold Wir lassen uns sie … is possible in some contexts but sounds marked; prefer bold sie uns.
Could I use bold mitbringen or bold holen instead of bold bringen?
- bold bringen = bring (to here). That’s the normal restaurant verb: the server brings the bill to your table.
- bold mitbringen = bring along (from somewhere else to where you are). Not idiomatic for a server fetching the bill within the restaurant.
- bold holen = fetch/go get. You could say the server bold holt die Rechnung (goes to get it), but to you they bold bringen it. So stick with bold bringen in your sentence.
How would this look inside a subordinate clause?
Keep the finite verb of the main clause outside, and put the infinitive cluster at the end:
- bold …, dass wir uns die Rechnung später bringen lassen, … Avoid extra complexity with perfect inside the clause unless needed.
How do I negate parts of this sentence?
- No tip: bold …, dann geben wir kein Trinkgeld.
- Not later (i.e., we don’t want it brought later): bold Wir lassen uns die Rechnung nicht später bringen.
- Not have it brought at all (focus on the action): bold Wir lassen uns die Rechnung später nicht bringen. Position of bold nicht changes what is negated.
Is bold lassen always causative?
No. bold lassen can also mean “let/allow” or “leave.”
- Allow: bold Lass ihn gehen! = “Let him go!”
- Leave: bold Ich lasse das Buch hier. = “I’m leaving the book here.” With a bare infinitive and an object like in your sentence, it’s causative (“have/get [something] done”).