verlässt

Verlässt is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb verlassen. It conveys the act of leaving or abandoning something or someone and can refer to departing from a place, a situation, or a relationship, depending on context.

In German, verlassen is a transitive verb that takes a direct object in the accusative. Examples include ich verlasse das Haus, du verlässt den Ort, er verlässt die Stadt. The past participle is verlassen, and the perfect tense is formed with haben: er hat das Haus verlassen, sie hat die Stadt verlassen.

Usage notes and examples:

- It can describe someone physically leaving a location: Er verlässt das Gebäude.

- It can express abandoning or quitting someone or something: Sie hat ihren Job verlassen.

- It is also used in phrases about leaving a country or a group: das Land verlassen, die Gemeinschaft verlassen.

Morphology and related forms:

- The present tense shows umlaut in the second and third person singular: du verlässt, er verlässt, while ich verlasse, wir verlassen, ihr verlasst, sie verlassen.

- The verb is often paired with context-specific objects to clarify what is left behind.

- A related expression is sich verlassen auf + Akkusativ, meaning “to rely on.”

Etymology:

- Verlässt is formed with the prefix ver- added to the base verb lassen; over time, it acquires the meaning of leaving behind or departing. The word verlassen is commonly contrasted with lassen in German, though they are distinct verbs.