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liegen, legen, and lügen

Just as English has "to lie" and "to lay," German has the verbs liegen  and legen.

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The verb liegen describes a state of being in a horizontal or resting position. The past participle of liegen is gelegen and the simple past tense is lag, lagst, lagt, or lagen, depending on the subject. 

 

Zu Füßen der Bergmassive liegen zauberhafte Wasserlandschaften.

At the foot of the mountain ranges lie magical water landscapes.

Caption 9, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten

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Ihre Räumlichkeiten sind ja wirklich sehr zentral gelegen.

Your premises are indeed really very centrally located.

Caption 14, Eva erklärt: Bewerbungen

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Ist das der Tee aus Debbies Kisten, der vorhin auf dem Boden lag? -Ja.

Is this the tea from Debbie's boxes that was lying on the floor earlier? -Yes.

Caption 30, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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One helpful way to think about it is that while the verb liegen is used to specify position or location ("Where?"), legen specifies direction ("Where to?"). The past participle is gelegt and the preterite is legte, legtest, legtet, or legten. This verb can also be translated as "to put" or "to place." 

 

Dann versuche, das Kissen so zu legen: ein Kissen dort, ein Kissen dort.

Then try to place the pillow: one pillow there, one pillow there.

Caption 62, Die Schmerzspezialisten: Diese Schlafposition solltest du unbedingt vermeiden!

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Die gewaschenen Kartoffeln werden jetzt in einen Topf mit kochendem Wasser gelegt.

The washed potatoes are now placed in a pot of boiling water.

Caption 20, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Bremen

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Die Königin schlich hinauf in das Zimmer der jungen Frau und legte eine Erbse auf den Holzrahmen des Bettes.

The Queen crept upstairs into the room of the Young Woman and laid a pea on the wooden frame of the bed.

Captions 68-69, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse

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In English, "to lie" has two meanings, of course, and the different past tenses ("lied" and "lay") cause some confusion. The German verb for saying something that isn’t truthful is lügen. The main thing is to be careful not to confuse the past participles gelogen and gelegen.

 

Wenn ich nicht heute für sie gelogen hätte, dann hätte die Frau sie mitgenommen.

If I hadn't lied for her today, then the woman would have taken her away.

Captions 53-54, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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Further Learning
You'll find many videos with these verbs used in context on Yabla German. Try writing your own sentences in the present and past tense.

Expressing Urgency and Immediacy in German

How do we emphasize the urgency of a situation or immediacy of an event? How can we reassure someone that something will be taken care of right away?

The adverb gleich is used a lot and has many possible translations in this context. You might be thinking about it as an adjective meaning "same" or "alike," and we also have a lesson on that topic. But here we are looking at how it is used to define something as happening "in just a minute," "immediately," or "momentarily." 

 

Gut, vielen Dank. Ich mache mich gleich auf den Weg.

Good, many thanks. I'll be on my way immediately.

Caption 14, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Warum hab ich das nicht gleich erkannt?

Why didn't I realize that right away?

Caption 80, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 12

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Ja, Moment, ich habe es gleich.

Yes, one moment, I'll have it momentarily.

Caption 30, Der Merkelpilot - der kleine Mann, der es macht

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There is another way to say that something will happen "any minute now," and it's very similar to how it's said in English:

 

Aber der Reparaturdienst müsste jede Minute da sein.

But the repair service should be here any minute.

Caption 8, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 18

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Another adverb to know is sofort, which is even more urgent than gleich, and is pretty much always translated as "at once," "right away," or "immediately."

 

Kein Problem, Frau Schmidt. Ich werde es Ihnen sofort schicken.

No problem, Ms. Schmidt. I will send it to you immediately.

Caption 67, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Sie ist sofort abgehauen, als Frau Lenz die Sache angesprochen hat.

She immediately took off when Ms. Lenz raised the matter.

Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 2

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In more formal contexts, you may hear unverzüglich ("without delay") and umgehend

 

Er muss unverzüglich Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen mit Eisenhower und Montgomery aufnehmen.

He must immediately begin armistice negotiations with Eisenhower and Montgomery.

Caption 81, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944

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Oder noch besser, komm umgehend ins Kontor.

Or better yet, come to the office immediately.

Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Alles auf Anfang

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Although unmittelbar is also translated as "immediate," it is often related to space rather than time: 

 

Wir sind, äh, hab ich schon gesagt,

We are, uh — as I've already said —

in unmittelbarer Nähe, äh, von Saarbrücken.

in the immediate vicinity, uh, of Saarbrücken.

Captions 37-38, Nachbarn - Andrea aus Forbach

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Daher ordne ich an, dass Sie unmittelbar wieder die Ehe schließen.

Therefore I order you to remarry immediately.

Captions 34-35, Yabla Gerichtshof - Probleme des Zusammenlebens

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For urgency, there is the word dringend, which like many German words functions as both an adjective and an adverb depending on how it's integrated in the sentence: 
 

Ich brauche dich hier dringend im Innendienst.

I need you urgently here in the office.

Caption 63, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern

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Further Learning
You will find many examples of these words used on Yabla German. In particular, keep an eye on how the translation of gleich changes depending on the context.