Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses

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by Hyde Flippo
Updated March 03, 2018

The German verb liegen (to lie, recline, rest) conjugated in all its tenses and moods.

The irregular/strong verb liegen (lie) is often confused with the regular/weak verb legen (lay). If you have trouble with "lie" and "lay" in English, learning the German distinction will help you! See the legen chart below with examples of the contrast with liegen.

Principal Parts: liegen • lag • gelegen
Imperative (Commands): (du) Lieg(e)!

| (ihr) Liegt! | Liegen Sie!

LIEGEN
Present Tense - Präsens
DEUTSCHENGLISH
SINGULAR
ich liegeI lie/recline
I am lying/reclining
du liegstyou lie/recline
you are lying/reclining
er liegt
  
sie liegt
  
es liegt		he lies/reclines
he is lying/reclining
she lies/reclines
she is lying/reclining
it lies/reclines
it is lying/reclining
PLURAL
wir liegenwe lie/recline
we are lying/reclining
ihr liegtyou (guys) lie/recline
you (guys) are lying/reclining
sie liegenthey lie/recline
they are lying/reclining
Sie liegenyou lie/recline
you are lying/reclining
Examples:
Er liegt immer noch im Bett. He's still lying in bed.
München liegt in Bayern. Munich lies [is] in Bavaria.
Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. The book is (lying) on the table.
 

 

LEGEN
Present Tense - Präsens
DEUTSCHENGLISH
SINGULAR
ich legeI lay/put
I am laying/putting
du legstyou lay/put
you are laying/putting
er legt
  
sie legt
  
es legt		he lays/puts
he is laying/putting
she lays/puts
she is laying/putting
it lays/puts
it is laying/putting
PLURAL
wir legenwe lay/put
we are laying/putting
ihr legtyou (guys) lay/put
you (guys) are laying/putting
sie legenthey lay/put
they are laying/putting
Sie legenyou lay/put
you are laying/putting
Examples:
Leg das Buch auf den Tisch. Put [lay] the book on the table.
 

 

 

LEGEN
Past Tenses - Präsens
Simple PastCompound Past
SINGULAR
ich/er legte
I/he laid/put		ich habe gelegt
I laid/put
I have laid/put
PLURAL
wir/Sie/sie legten
we/you/they laid/put		wir haben gelegt
we laid/put
we have laid/put
 

 

 

LIEGEN
Simple Past Tense - Imperfekt
DEUTSCHENGLISH
SINGULAR
ich lagI laid/reclined
du lagstyou laid/reclined
er lag
sie lag
es lag		he laid/reclined
she laid/reclined
it laid/reclined
PLURAL
wir lagenwe laid/reclined
ihr lagtyou (guys) laid/reclined
sie lagenthey laid/reclined
Sie lagenyou laid/reclined

 

 

LIEGEN
Compound Past Tense (Pres. Perfect) - Perfekt
DEUTSCHENGLISH
SINGULAR
ich habe gelegenI have laid/reclined
I laid/reclined
du hast gelegenyou have laid/reclined
you laid/reclined
er hat gelegen
 
sie hat gelegen
 
es hat gelegen		he has laid/reclined
he laid/reclined
she has laid/reclined
she laid/reclined
it has laid/reclined
it laid/reclined
PLURAL
wir haben gelegenwe have laid/reclined
we laid/reclined
ihr habt gelegenyou (guys) have laid/reclined
you laid/reclined
sie haben gelegenthey have laid/reclined
they laid/reclined
Sie haben gelegenyou have laid/reclined
you laid/reclined

 

 

LIEGEN
Past Perfect Tense - Plusquamperfekt
DEUTSCHENGLISH
SINGULAR
ich hatte gelegenI had laid/reclined
du hattest gelegenyou had laid/reclined
er hatte gelegen
sie hatte gelegen
es hatte gelegen		he had laid/reclined
she had laid/reclined
it had laid/reclined
PLURAL
wir hatten gelegenwe had laid/reclined
ihr hattet gelegenyou (guys) had laid/reclined
sie hatten gelegenthey had laid/reclined
Sie hatten gelegenyou had laid/reclined
 

 

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Your Citation
Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses." ThoughtCo, Mar. 3, 2018, thoughtco.com/liegen-to-lie-recline-rest-all-tenses-4082200. Flippo, Hyde. (2018, March 3). Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/liegen-to-lie-recline-rest-all-tenses-4082200 Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/liegen-to-lie-recline-rest-all-tenses-4082200 (accessed May 25, 2018).