Skip to content
fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

legen

to lay, to put down

  • #65 most used
  • Weak verb
  • Past participle: gelegt

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I lay
  2. du you lay
  3. er, sie, es he/she lays
  4. wir we lay
  5. ihr you all lay
  6. sie, Sie they lay

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I laid
  2. du you laid
  3. er, sie, es he/she laid
  4. wir we laid
  5. ihr you all laid
  6. sie, Sie they laid

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I have laid
  2. du you have laid
  3. er, sie, es he/she has laid
  4. wir we have laid
  5. ihr you all have laid
  6. sie, Sie they have laid

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I will lay
  2. du you will lay
  3. er, sie, es he/she will lay
  4. wir we will lay
  5. ihr you all will lay
  6. sie, Sie they will lay

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I would lay
  2. du you would lay
  3. er, sie, es he/she would lay
  4. wir we would lay
  5. ihr you all would lay
  6. sie, Sie they would lay

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

  1. du lay!
  2. ihr lay! (all of you)
  3. Sie lay! (formal)

How to use legen

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ich lege den Schlüssel auf den Tisch.

    I'm putting the key on the table.

  2. Simple past

    Sie legte das Baby ins Bett.

    She put the baby to bed.

  3. Perfect

    Wohin hast du meine Brille gelegt?

    Where did you put my glasses?

  4. Future

    Wir werden die Teppiche ins Wohnzimmer legen.

    We'll put the rugs in the living room.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde das Fleisch zuerst in die Pfanne legen.

    I'd put the meat in the pan first.

  6. Imperative

    Leg die Wäsche bitte aufs Bett.

    Put the laundry on the bed, please.

Good to know

  • Legen is to put something down flat; stellen is to put it upright; liegen is where it already is.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: weak verb.