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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.

Ways of Saying "To try"

The English verb "to try" has a number of different meanings, and each of these corresponds to a different German verb. 

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For example, the verb versuchen means "to try" as in "to attempt."

 

Ich versuche nun mit dem Schneebesen die Klumpen zu lösen.

I'm now going to try to break up the clumps with a whisk.

Caption 30, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Brandenburg

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Oh, das hört sich nicht so gut an. Hast du versucht, darüber zu reden?

Oh, that does not sound so good. Have you tried to talk about it?

Caption 37, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Probleme

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A similar way to express this is sich Mühe geben or sich bemühen, although this is better translated as "to make an effort" or "to endeavor."

 

Auf der Domäne Dahlem bemühen sie sich, ökologischen Landwirtschaftsbau zu betreiben.

At the Domain Dahlem they endeavor to pursue ecologically sound agricultural practices.

Captions 24-25, Berlin Domäne Dahlem - Part 1

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Another meaning of "to try" is more similar "to test" or "to taste." For this, we need to understand the distinction between probieren and ausprobieren. The verb probieren is commonly—though not exclusively—used for food and drink. The verb ausprobieren carries the nuance of trying something out in order to find out how it works, how it feels, or whether you like it. As you can see here, probieren is used for tea and casserole, while ausprobieren is used for skydiving and cooking.

 

Ich habe den Tee doch selbst probiert.

I tried the tea myself.

Caption 22, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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Der Auflauf ist nun fertig und bereit zum Probieren.

The casserole is now finished and ready to try.

Caption 58, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Bremen

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Ihr müsst das einfach mal ausprobieren.

You simply must try it out.

Caption 17, Abenteuer und Sport: Fallschirmspringen

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Ich hoffe, ihr probiert das Rezept mal zu Hause aus.

I hope you try out the recipe at home.

Caption 44, Deutsch mit Paula: Vegane Pfannkuchen backen

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When talking about trying food, some people might also use the verb kosten. And yes, it's spelled exactly the same as the verb for "to cost."

 

Aber die meisten Leute kommen her, um das leckere Essen zu kosten...

But most people come here to taste the delicious food...

Caption 11, Weihnachtsmärkte mit Eva

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Es heißt, es soll auch gut sein, das Heilwasser hier zu kosten.

They say it's also supposed to be good to taste the healing water here.

Captions 66-67, Yabla reist durch Europa: Wiesbaden

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There is also the legal meaning of "to try," and this is vor Gericht stellen.

 

Further Learning
You'll find many, many examples of these verbs on Yabla German, so search for them and then try writing your own sentences. Or, to say it in German, Versuch es mal!