The Many Uses of laten
The Many Uses of laten
laten is one of the busiest verbs in Dutch. It means let, have done, leave, stop and — with a reflexive — can be done, and only word order and context tell you which meaning is in play.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Causative laten: having something done by someone else
Ik laat mijn haar knippen. Wij hebben het dak laten repareren.
I'm having my hair cut. We had the roof repaired.
laten plus an infinitive means you arrange for someone else to perform the action — matching English 'have something done' or 'get something done'. The agent can be named with door: Ik laat de auto door een monteur repareren. In the perfect it triggers the double infinitive: hebben laten repareren, never 'gelaten'.
Permissive laten: letting someone do something
Laat me gaan. Hij laat zijn kinderen buiten spelen.
Let me go. He lets his children play outside.
The same structure with a personal object gives the permission reading, exactly like English 'let'. Whether laten means 'let' or 'have done' depends on whether the object is the doer or the thing done — Ik laat hem de auto repareren ('I let/have him repair the car') can be either, resolved only by context. That ambiguity is genuine and Dutch speakers live with it.
laten as 'leave' and in fixed phrases
Laat je jas hier. Laat maar. Laten we beginnen.
Leave your coat here. Never mind. Let's begin.
Without an infinitive, laten simply means 'to leave (behind)': Ik heb mijn sleutels thuis gelaten — and here the ordinary participle gelaten does appear. Laat maar is a very common way to say 'never mind, forget it'. laten we forms the inclusive imperative, and laten staan means 'let alone' in the sense of 'not to mention'.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- to let / to have done / to leave
- English
- I'll have it done
- English
- to let know
- English
- to drop
- English
- to show
- English
- Never mind
- English
- let alone
- English
- to cut (hair)
- English
- the mechanic
- English
- the roof
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