Humanities › Languages Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses Share Flipboard Email Print Tetra Images / Getty Images Languages German Grammar Basics History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary English as a Second Language Spanish French Italian Japanese Mandarin Russian English Grammar View More by Hyde Flippo Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. Updated January 29, 2019 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 • gelegenImperative (Commands): (du) Lieg(e)! | (ihr) Liegt! | Liegen Sie!LIEGENPresent Tense - PräsensDEUTSCHENGLISHSINGULARich liegeI lie/reclineI am lying/recliningdu liegstyou lie/reclineyou are lying/reclininger liegt sie liegt es liegthe lies/reclineshe is lying/recliningshe lies/reclinesshe is lying/recliningit lies/reclinesit is lying/recliningPLURALwir liegenwe lie/reclinewe are lying/recliningihr liegtyou (guys) lie/reclineyou (guys) are lying/recliningsie liegenthey lie/reclinethey are lying/recliningSie liegenyou lie/reclineyou are lying/recliningExamples: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. LEGENPresent Tense - PräsensDEUTSCHENGLISHSINGULARich legeI lay/putI am laying/puttingdu legstyou lay/putyou are laying/puttinger legt sie legt es legthe lays/putshe is laying/puttingshe lays/putsshe is laying/puttingit lays/putsit is laying/puttingPLURALwir legenwe lay/putwe are laying/puttingihr legtyou (guys) lay/putyou (guys) are laying/puttingsie legenthey lay/putthey are laying/puttingSie legenyou lay/putyou are laying/puttingExamples:Leg das Buch auf den Tisch. Put [lay] the book on the table. LEGENPast Tenses - PräsensSimple PastCompound PastSINGULARich/er legteI/he laid/putich habe gelegtI laid/putI have laid/putPLURALwir/Sie/sie legtenwe/you/they laid/putwir haben gelegtwe laid/putwe have laid/put LIEGENSimple Past Tense - ImperfektDEUTSCHENGLISHSINGULARich lagI laid/reclineddu lagstyou laid/reclineder lagsie lages laghe laid/reclinedshe laid/reclinedit laid/reclinedPLURALwir lagenwe laid/reclinedihr lagtyou (guys) laid/reclinedsie lagenthey laid/reclinedSie lagenyou laid/reclined LIEGENCompound Past Tense (Pres. Perfect) - PerfektDEUTSCHENGLISHSINGULARich habe gelegenI have laid/reclinedI laid/reclineddu hast gelegenyou have laid/reclinedyou laid/reclineder hat gelegen sie hat gelegen es hat gelegenhe has laid/reclinedhe laid/reclinedshe has laid/reclinedshe laid/reclinedit has laid/reclinedit laid/reclinedPLURALwir haben gelegenwe have laid/reclinedwe laid/reclinedihr habt gelegenyou (guys) have laid/reclinedyou laid/reclinedsie haben gelegenthey have laid/reclinedthey laid/reclinedSie haben gelegenyou have laid/reclinedyou laid/reclined LIEGENPast Perfect Tense - PlusquamperfektDEUTSCHENGLISHSINGULARich hatte gelegenI had laid/reclineddu hattest gelegenyou had laid/reclineder hatte gelegensie hatte gelegenes hatte gelegenhe had laid/reclinedshe had laid/reclinedit had laid/reclinedPLURALwir hatten gelegenwe had laid/reclinedihr hattet gelegenyou (guys) had laid/reclinedsie hatten gelegenthey had laid/reclinedSie hatten gelegenyou had laid/reclined Continue Reading