GermanVerbs, Grammar Tips In this post, we’ll discuss a few pairs of German verbsNo definition set for verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. with very similar meanings and forms. In these pairs, one variant is used for expressing directional movement while the other expresses a static location:
liegen(to lie in place) | legen(to lay down) |
sitzen(to sit) | setzen(to sit down) |
stehen(to stand in place) | stellen(to set, put) |
hängen(to hang) | hängen(to hang) |
For example, compare these two sentences:
Der Vater setzt das Kind vor sich hin an den See und beobachtet die Enten.
The father sits the child down in front of him by the lake and watches the ducks.
→ Movement: the child goes from not sitting to sitting.
Währenddessen sitzt die Mutter in einem Café und liest ein Buch.
In the meantime the mother sits in a café and reads a book.
→ No movement: she remains in a sitting position.
Let’s have a look at these four pairs of verbs, how you can tell them apart, and how you should use them in German!
What is the general difference between verbs in these pairs?
The verb pairs that we are discussing in this article have one main thing in common: One word of the pair describes static location and the other one describes directional movement. However, it’s also worth noting some other similarities among the static location verbs and among the directional movement verbs, so we’ll cover these patterns below.
Location vs. direction
The main difference between static location and directional movement verbs is:
Static location verbs are used when there is no movement, we are simply describing something’s position.
Sabine sitzt Sabine mit ihrem heißen Kaffee am offenen Fenster.
Sabine is sitting with her hot coffee by the open window.
→ She isn’t moving, this just describes how she’s positioned at her location.
Verbs like these go with a location you’d ask about using the word wo(where).
Speaker A:Wo sitzt Sabine mit ihrem heißen Kaffee?
Where is Sabine sitting with her hot coffee?
The following are used to describe static locations: liegen(to lie in place), sitzen(to sit), stehen(to stand in place), and hängen(to hang).
Directional movement verbs are used when there is movement from one place to another — someone or something is moving into a position.
Sabine stellt ihre Kaffeetasse auf die Fensterbank.
Sabine is setting her cup of coffee on the window sill.
→ The coffee is moving; it was not on the window sill, but soon it will be.
Verbs like these go with a location you’d ask about using the word wohin(where to).
Speaker A:Wohin stellt Sabine ihre Kaffeetasse?
Where (to) is Sabine putting her cup of coffee?
The following are used to describe directional movement: legen(to lay down), setzen(to sit down), stellen(to set, put), and hängen(to hang).
Often the location or destination associated with these pairs of verbs will be a two-case preposition, like an(on) or auf(off). The case assigned by such prepositions depends on whether they describe a destination or a location:
Use dative case with static location verbs:
static location verbdative case
Morgens sitzt Sabine mit ihrem Kaffee immer am Fenster.
In the morning, Sabine always sits with her coffee by the window.
→ am = an(on) + dem(the (dative case))
Use accusative case with directional movement verbs:
directional movement verbaccusative case
Morgens stellt Sabine immer ihre Kaffeetasse auf die Fensterbank.
In the morning, Sabine always puts her cup of coffee on the window sill.
Transitive vs. intransitive
You might also see another distinction between these verbs. Some of them are intransitive (used without an objectNo definition set for objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.) while others are transitive (used with an object).
The intransitive verbs are liegen(to lie in place), sitzen(to sit), stehen(to stand in place), and hängen(to be hanging), the same ones used for static locations.
intransitive verb
Der schwarze Hund liegt (im Schatten).
The black dog is lying (in the shade).
Der weiße Hund sitzt (auf dem Teppich).
The white dog is sitting (on the rug).
The brown dog is standing.
Die Leine des Hundes hing.
The leash of the dog was hanging.
The transitive verbs are legen(to lay down), setzen(to sit down), stellen(to set, put), and hängen(to hang), the same ones used for directional movement.
transitive verbdirect object
Der schwarze Hund legt seinen Knochen auf sein Bett.
The black dog is laying his bone on his bed.
Der weiße Hund setzt seinen Teddybär auf die Wiese.
The white dog is putting his teddy bear on the lawn.
Der braune Hund stellt seinen Spielzeugwürfel auf den Boden.
The brown dog is putting his toy cube on the ground.
Der Hund hängt seine Leine an den Zaun.
The dog is hanging his leash on the fence.
→ Yes, dogs are capable of a lot of things! 😉
The directional movement verbs can all be used reflexively as well, to say that you moved yourself into a particular position. Just replace the direct object with the appropriate reflexive pronoun:
directional movement verbreflexive pronoun
Setz dich bitte (auf den Stuhl).
Please seat yourself on the chair.
Stellt euch bitte auf den Stuhl.
Please stand on the chair.
Legen Sie sich bitte neben den Stuhl.
Please lay yourself next to the chair.
Note though that, apart from sich setzen(to seat oneself), you must include a location.
Conjugation differences
These two groups of verbs, the static location ones and the directional movement ones, also follow two different conjugationNo definition set for conjugationLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. patterns.
The static location verbs are strong verbs (or “irregular verbs”)…
to sit → sat (past tense) → sat (past participle)
→ This is a strong verb pattern.
…and they form compound tenses, like the perfect tense, using sein(to be).
Das Kind war auf dem neuen Sofa gesessen.
The child sat on the new couch.
The directional movement verbs are weak verbs (or “regular verbs”)...
setzen — setzte — gesetzt
to set — set (past tense) → set (past participle)
→ This is a weak verb pattern.
…and they form compound tenses using haben(to have).
Ich habe das Kind auf das neue Sofa gesetzt.
I sat the child down on the new couch.
You can come across regional variations, where different verb forms are commonly accepted, though they are technically “incorrect.”
✅Ich habe die Wäsche zum Trocknen aufgehängt.
🆗Ich habe die Wäsche zum Trocknen aufgehangen.
I hung the laundry to dry.
Now, let’s look at the individual verb pairs!
‘Liegen’ vs. ‘legen’
In German, liegen(to lie) is for a static location, while legen(to lay) describes directional movement.
Liegen(to lie) → something or someone is lying in a specific spot.
static locationdative case
Im Urlaub liege ich am liebsten auf meinem Badetuch und lese ein Buch.
On vacation I prefer lying on my beach towel reading a book.
Legen(to lay) → someone is moving something or someone into a lying position.
directional movement verbaccusative case
Bevor ich ins Wasser gehe, lege ich mein Buch auf mein Badetuch.
Before I go into the water I lay my book on my beach towel.
The “lying” position described by liegen and legen is generally only used to describe something or someone that is laid down flat or on its side. If something is put upright, as you might a bottle, or a shelved book, use stehen(to stand) / stellen(to set) instead.
‘Sitzen’ vs. ‘(sich) setzen’
In German, sitzen(to sit) is used to describe something’s static location, while setzen(to sit down) is used to describe directional movement.
Setzen(to sit) → something or someone continues sitting in a specific spot.
static location verbdative case
Nach dem Bad im Meer sitze ich in meinem Liegestuhl und entspanne mich.
After the swim in the ocean I sit in my beach chair and relax.
→ I’m not saying I’m moving into the chair, just that I exist in the seat.
Setzen(to sit down) → someone or something moves into a seated position. If you’re sitting yourself down, you’ll use it with the reflexive pronoun sich, but if you’re sitting someone else down, that is not necessary.
directional movementaccusative casereflexive pronoun
Mein Baby setze ich in den klappbaren Hochstuhl.
I am sitting my baby in the foldable highchair.
Um einen Snack zu essen, setze ich mich an den kleinen Tisch.
To eat a snack I sit down at the small table.
In German, the verb setzen(to sit) is more literal than in English. You can only use it to describe the position of things that have knee joints, legs, or bottoms. So you could use this verb for a person, a doll, a pet, some stuffed animals etc.
So, though in English, you might say something like “I sat my drink on the edge of the table,” in German, you would need to use a different verb, like legen(to lay) or stellen(to stand) instead.
‘Stehen’ vs. ‘stellen’
In German, stehen(to stand, to be situated) is for a static location, while stellan(to stand, to put) is for directional movement.
Stehen(to stand, to be situated) → something or someone is standing in a specific spot.
static location verbdative case
Meine Kühlbox mit den Getränken steht unter dem Sonnenschirm.
My cooler with the drinks stands under the umbrella.
Stellen(to put) → someone puts someone or something into a standing position.
directional movement verbaccusative case
Ich stelle meine Flasche neben die Kühlbox in den Sand.
I put my bottle next to the cooler into the sand.
You can also use stellen as a reflexive verb, sich stellen(to get yourself into a position), as in:
directional movement verbreflexive pronoun
Ich stelle mich neben dich.
I’m positioning myself next to you.
Use stehen and stellen for things that have a firm base and or things, people, animals that are standing on a firm base.
For example, much like in English, you could say a bottle is “standing” on the table, but you wouldn’t say that a sunny side up egg is “standing” on the plate. Even though the plate is firm, the egg isn’t. For an egg, you would use liegen(to lay) instead.
Die Flasche steht auf dem Tisch.
The bottle is standing on the table.
Das Spiegelei und der Speck liegen auf dem Teller.
The sunny side up egg and the bacon are lying on the plate.
‘Hängen’ vs. ‘hängen’
While hängen and hängen look exactly the same at first sight, they are actually two different verbs, which have two different conjugation patterns.
Hängen(to hang), as a strong verb (hängen / hing / gehangen) → something or someone is hanging in place.
static location verbdative case
Mein Handtuch hängt bereits auf der Heizung meines Hotelzimmer.
My towel is already hanging on the heater of my hotel room.
Hängen(to hang), as a weak verb → someone is hanging someone or something up, moving it into a hanging position.
directional movement verbaccusative case
Ich hänge meinen nassen Badeanzug in das Badezimmer meines Hotelzimmer.
I am hanging my wet bathing suit in the bathroom of my hotel room.
Summary
Here’s a quick summary of what we covered here:
someone or something remains in a position | someone or something moves into a position |
liegen(to lie in place)sitzen(to sit)stehen(to stand in place)hängen(to hang) | legen(to lay down)setzen(to sit down)stellen(to set, put)hängen(to hang) |
conjugated as strong verbs | |
perfect tense with sein(to be) | perfect tense with haben(to have) |
| transitive (take an object) |
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