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

Student studying in library — Tetra Images / Getty Images

By

Updated on February 24, 2020

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

DEUTSCH	ENGLISH
ich liege	I lie/recline I am lying/reclining
du liegst	you 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
wir liegen	we lie/recline we are lying/reclining
ihr liegt	you (guys) lie/recline you (guys) are lying/reclining
sie liegen	they lie/recline they are lying/reclining
Sie liegen	you 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

DEUTSCH	ENGLISH
ich lege	I lay/put I am laying/putting
du legst	you 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
wir legen	we lay/put we are laying/putting
ihr legt	you (guys) lay/put you (guys) are laying/putting
sie legen	they lay/put they are laying/putting
Sie legen	you 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 Past	Compound Past
ich/er legte I/he laid/put	ich habe gelegt I laid/put I have laid/put
wir/Sie/sie legten we/you/they laid/put	wir haben gelegt we laid/put we have laid/put

LIEGEN
Simple Past Tense - Imperfekt

DEUTSCH	ENGLISH
ich lag	I laid/reclined
du lagst	you laid/reclined
er lag sie lag es lag	he laid/reclined she laid/reclined it laid/reclined
wir lagen	we laid/reclined
ihr lagt	you (guys) laid/reclined
sie lagen	they laid/reclined
Sie lagen	you laid/reclined

LIEGEN
Compound Past Tense (Pres. Perfect) - Perfekt

DEUTSCH	ENGLISH
ich habe gelegen	I have laid/reclined I laid/reclined
du hast gelegen	you 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
wir haben gelegen	we have laid/reclined we laid/reclined
ihr habt gelegen	you (guys) have laid/reclined you laid/reclined
sie haben gelegen	they have laid/reclined they laid/reclined
Sie haben gelegen	you have laid/reclined you laid/reclined

LIEGEN
Past Perfect Tense - Plusquamperfekt

DEUTSCH	ENGLISH
ich hatte gelegen	I had laid/reclined
du hattest gelegen	you had laid/reclined
er hatte gelegen sie hatte gelegen es hatte gelegen	he had laid/reclined she had laid/reclined it had laid/reclined
wir hatten gelegen	we had laid/reclined
ihr hattet gelegen	you (guys) had laid/reclined
sie hatten gelegen	they had laid/reclined
Sie hatten gelegen	you had laid/reclined

Format

mla apa chicago

Your Citation

Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/liegen-to-lie-recline-rest-all-tenses-4082200. Flippo, Hyde. (2021, February 16). 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 March 28, 2023).