Method for operating an externally ignited combustion engine with partial shut-down

The engine (10) has two cylinders (14) forming two groups, where the two groups are characterized by different cylinder volumes. The cylinder of one group is activated in a load-dependent manner and deactivated when a predefined load is undershot. One of the cylinders of the first group includes a lesser cylinder volume and the cylinder of the second group includes a greater cylinder volume. The cylinder of the second group comprises an activatable and deactivatable cylinders. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for operating an internal combustion engine (2) a system for operating an internal combustion engine.