Languages › German Conjugating Liegen (to Lie, Recline, Rest) in All Tenses Share Flipboard Email Print Tetra Images / Getty Images German Grammar History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary By Hyde Flippo German Expert 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. our editorial process Hyde Flippo Updated 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 • gelegenImperative (Commands): (du) Lieg(e)! | (ihr) Liegt! | Liegen Sie! LIEGENPresent Tense - Präsens DEUTSCH ENGLISH ich liege I lie/recline I am lying/reclining du liegst you lie/recline you are lying/reclining er liegtsie liegtes 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. LEGENPresent Tense - Präsens DEUTSCH ENGLISH ich lege I lay/put I am laying/putting du legst you lay/put you are laying/putting er legtsie legtes 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. LEGENPast 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 LIEGENSimple Past Tense - Imperfekt DEUTSCH ENGLISH ich lag I laid/reclined du lagst you laid/reclined er lagsie lages 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 LIEGENCompound 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 gelegensie hat gelegenes 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 LIEGENPast Perfect Tense - Plusquamperfekt DEUTSCH ENGLISH ich hatte gelegen I had laid/reclined du hattest gelegen you had laid/reclined er hatte gelegensie hatte gelegenes 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 Cite this Article 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 April 11, 2021). copy citation