Liegen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Liegen means “to lie”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for liegen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with liegen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich liege auf dem Bett.” — “I lie on the bed.”
- “Du liegst im Garten in der Sonne.” — “You lie in the garden in the sun.”
- “Ich habe neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch gelegen.” — “I have lain next to the book on the table.”
- “Er lag auf dem Bett.” — “He lay on the bed.”
- “Wir werden im Garten in der Sonne liegen.” — “We will lie in the garden in the sun.”
- “Du hast neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch gelegen.” — “You have lain next to the book on the table.”
- “Ich läge auf dem Bett.” — “I would lie on the bed.”
- “Er liege im Garten in der Sonne.” — “He lies in the garden in the sun.”
- “Wir hatten neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch gelegen.” — “We had lain next to the book on the table.”
- “Er wird auf dem Bett liegen.” — “He will lie on the bed.”
- “Sie liegen im Garten in der Sonne.” — “They lie in the garden in the sun.”
- “Lieg neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch!” — “Lie next to the book on the table!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about on the bed. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how liegen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of liegen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Liegst du auf dem Bett?” — “You lie on the bed?” Jonas: “Ich liege auf dem Bett.” — “I lie on the bed.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde im Garten in der Sonne liegen.” — “I will lie in the garden in the sun.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch gelegen.” — “I have lain next to the book on the table.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich läge auf dem Bett.” — “I would lie on the bed.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Liegen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of liegen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, liegen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is liege: “Ich liege auf dem Bett.” — “I lie on the bed.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, liegen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is lag: “Er lag im Garten in der Sonne.” — “He lay in the garden in the sun.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, liegen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gelegen. The ich form is habe gelegen: “Ich habe neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch gelegen.” — “I have lain next to the book on the table.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, liegen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden liegen: “Wir werden auf dem Bett liegen.” — “We will lie on the bed.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, liegen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is lägest: “Du lägest im Garten in der Sonne.” — “You would lie in the garden in the sun.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, liegen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is liege: “Er liege neben dem Buch auf dem Tisch.” — “He lies next to the book on the table.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich liegen auf dem Bett.”
✓ Right: “Ich liege auf dem Bett.”
The infinitive liegen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form liege.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du liege auf dem Bett.”
✓ Right: “Du liegst auf dem Bett.”
liege is the ich form. With du you need liegst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich liege auf dem Bett gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe auf dem Bett gelegen.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gelegen, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich liege auf dem Bett.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich liege auf dem Bett.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: liege, not the indicative liege.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gelegen auf dem Bett.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe auf dem Bett gelegen.”
The Perfekt of liegen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gelegen: the full ich form is habe gelegen.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on liegen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of liegen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) liegt
- B) liegen
- C) liege
- D) liegst
What is the du form of liegen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) liegst
- B) liege
- C) liegt
- D) liegen
What is the er/sie/es form of liegen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gelegen
- B) habe gelegen
- C) hast gelegen
- D) haben gelegen
What is the wir form of liegen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) lagt
- B) lagen
- C) lag
- D) lagst
What is the du form of liegen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde liegen
- B) wird liegen
- C) werden liegen
- D) wirst liegen
What is the ich form of liegen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) läge
- B) lägest
- C) lägen
- D) läget
What is the er/sie/es form of liegen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) liegen
- B) lieget
- C) liege
- D) liegest
What is the ich form of liegen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gelegen
- B) hatten gelegen
- C) hattet gelegen
- D) hatte gelegen
What is the past participle of liegen?
- A) gesprochen
- B) gelegen
- C) geheißen
- D) gedacht
What does liegen mean in English?
- A) to be called
- B) to think
- C) to speak
- D) to lie
Answer key
- C) liege — the ich form of liegen in the Present (Präsens) is liege. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) liegst — the du form of liegen in the Present (Präsens) is liegst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hat gelegen — the er/sie/es form of liegen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gelegen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) lagen — the wir form of liegen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is lagen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) wirst liegen — the du form of liegen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst liegen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) läge — the ich form of liegen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is läge. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) liege — the er/sie/es form of liegen in the Konjunktiv I is liege. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatte gelegen — the ich form of liegen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gelegen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gelegen — the past participle of liegen is gelegen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to lie — liegen means “to lie” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does liegen mean in English?
liegen means “to lie”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is liegen regular or irregular?
liegen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is liegend and the past participle is gelegen.
How do I practise liegen every day?
Say one sentence with liegen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich liege auf dem Bett.”, “Ich habe auf dem Bett gelegen.” and “Ich werde auf dem Bett liegen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for liegen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of liegen — every tense of liegen in one place.
- Liegen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Liegen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Heißen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Denken conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Sprechen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise liegen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise liegen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise liegen with the interactive tool.