The German verb liegen means “to lie” in the sense of being in a certain position or location. It is an irregular verb with stem vowel changes in certain forms. Liegen is a common verb used to describe the position of objects or people, as well as to indicate where something is situated.
Conjugation
Liegen follows a pattern with i → ie stem changes in the du and er/sie/es forms of the present tense. The past tense (Präteritum) uses lag-, and the past participle is gelegen.
Present Tense
| Person | German Conjugation | English Conjugation |
|---|
| ich | ich liege | I lie / I am lying |
| du | du liegst | you lie / you are lying |
| er/sie/es | er/sie/es liegt | he/she/it lies |
| wir | wir liegen | we lie |
| ihr | ihr liegt | you all lie |
| sie/Sie | sie/Sie liegen | they/you lie |
Simple Past (Präteritum)
| Person | German Conjugation | English Conjugation |
|---|
| ich | ich lag | I lay |
| du | du lagst | you lay |
| er/sie/es | er/sie/es lag | he/she/it lay |
| wir | wir lagen | we lay |
| ihr | ihr lagt | you all lay |
| sie/Sie | sie/Sie lagen | they/you lay |
Past Participle
| Form | German Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|
| gefällt | gelegen | lain |
Usage
Liegen can be used both literally and figuratively. It always takes the dative case when indicating location.
Example: Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book lies on the table.)
dem Tisch is dative.
Examples
Literal Usage
| German Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|
| Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. | The book lies on the table. |
| Ich liege im Bett. | I am lying in bed. |
| Die Stadt liegt am Rhein. | The city is located on the Rhine. |
Figurative Usage
| German Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|
| Es liegt an dir. | It’s up to you. |
| Der Fehler liegt bei mir. | The fault lies with me. |
| Das Problem liegt tiefer. | The problem runs deeper. |
In Time Expressions
| German Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|
| Der Brief lag drei Tage auf dem Tisch. | The letter lay on the table for three days. |
| Die alte Postkarte liegt schon lange in der Schublade. | The old postcard has been lying in the drawer for a long time. |
| Während des Sturms lag die Stadt im Dunkeln. | During the storm, the city was in darkness. |
Summary
- Liegen means “to lie” or “to be located.”
- Irregular stem vowel change: i → ie in du and er/sie/es forms.
- Past tense stem: lag- ; past participle: gelegen.
- Always uses the dative case for location.
- Can be used literally (position/location) or figuratively (responsibility, cause).
