Before you start
Meet zulassen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 3 meanings
- (transitive) to allow
- (transitive) (administrative) to license (a car, a professional); to admit (a student)
- (transitive, informal) to keep something shut or closed
Build the meaning
zu- + lassen
- zu-
- toward or into an allowed space
- lassen
- to let
You let someone or something come into the space of what is permitted.
So zulassen means to allow; to permit.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: zu·lassen
In a main clause the prefix zu splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseDer Verein lässt neue Mitglieder zu.The club admits new members.
Subordinate clauseSie freut sich, weil die Schule den Antrag zulässt.She is happy because the school approves the application.
Participle: zugelassenzu-infinitive: zuzulassen
Forms
How zulassen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | lasse zu | ließ zu |
| du | lässt zu | ließest zu |
| er/sie/es | lässt zu | ließ zu |
| wir | lassen zu | ließen zu |
| ihr | lasst zu | ließt zu |
| Sie | lassen zu | ließen zu |
Partizip II zugelassen · Perfekt with haben
Three examples
- 1Die Schule lässt Handys im Unterricht nicht zu.The school does not allow phones in class.present, prefix at the end
- 2Der Chef hat den Plan zugelassen.The boss approved the plan.Perfekt with haben
- 3Ich weiß, dass der Arzt den Besuch zulässt.I know that the doctor allows the visit.verb at the end after dass
Verb family
More verbs built on lassen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.