Dutch positional verbs: liggen, staan, zitten and hangen

Where are your keys? In English they simply are on the table. In Dutch they lie there: Mijn sleutels liggen op tafel. Dutch speakers describe where things are with four positional verbs — liggen (lie), staan (stand), zitten (sit) and hangen (hang) — and using plain zijn (to be) instead sounds flat and foreign. The system has a clear logic, though, and once you see it you'll start "seeing" objects the Dutch way.

The four verbs and their logic

The question to ask is: what is the object's shape and position right now?

• Je telefoon ligt op de bank. — Your phone is on the sofa.
• De borden staan in de kast. — The plates are in the cupboard.
• Er zit melk in de koffie. — There's milk in the coffee.
• Er hangt een lamp boven de tafel. — There's a lamp above the table.

The same book can lie or stand. On the table it ligt; on a bookshelf, upright between other books, it staat: Het boek staat in de boekenkast.

A closer look at staan, liggen and zitten

Staan: upright, and much more

Staan is used for anything on its base or legs: bottles, glasses, chairs, furniture, plants, cars, bikes and buildings.

• De auto staat voor de deur. — The car is (parked) outside the door.
• Mijn fiets staat bij het station. — My bike is at the station.
• Het eten staat op tafel. — Dinner is on the table.

That last one surprises people: plates and dishes stand, because they rest on their bottom.

Staan is also the verb for text and pictures:

• Het staat in de krant. — It's in the newspaper.
• Je naam staat niet op de lijst. — Your name isn't on the list.
• Wat staat er op het bord? — What does it say on the board?

Liggen: flat, and geography

Liggen is for things lying flat or spread out: papers, phones, keys, cutlery, rugs, people in bed, and animals stretched out.

• De sleutels liggen in de la. — The keys are in the drawer.
• De kat ligt op de bank. — The cat is lying on the sofa.
• Hij ligt nog in bed. — He's still in bed.

Countries, cities and buildings also liggen when you talk about their location:

• Utrecht ligt in het midden van het land. — Utrecht is in the middle of the country.
• Het hotel ligt vlak bij het strand. — The hotel is right near the beach.

Two very common expressions:

• Dat ligt eraan. — That depends.
• Het ligt aan mij. — It's my fault. (Literally "it lies with me".)

Zitten: inside, stuck on, and sitting

Zitten means "to sit" for people and animals, but for objects it means being inside something or attached to it.

• De sleutel zit in het slot. — The key is in the lock.
• Er zit een vlek op je shirt. — There's a stain on your shirt.
• Er zit een spin op de muur. — There's a spider on the wall.
• Hoeveel koekjes zitten er in een pak? — How many biscuits are in a packet?

It also appears in many idioms:

• Hoe zit het met je nieuwe baan? — How are things with your new job? / What about your new job?
• Dat zit wel goed. — That'll be fine. / Don't worry about it.
• Die broek zit lekker. — Those trousers are comfortable.
• Mijn zoon zit op school. — My son is at school.

Putting things somewhere: leggen, zetten, stoppen, hangen

The positional verbs describe where something is. For putting something somewhere, Dutch has matching action verbs. Notice that you can't put things down with liggen or staan — those verbs never take an object.

In everyday speech, doen is a handy all-purpose "put", especially for putting something into something: Doe de melk maar in de koelkast. — Just put the milk in the fridge.

Watch the past forms, because the position verbs are irregular and the action verbs mostly regular:

All of these take hebben in the perfect: Het boek heeft daar de hele dag gelegen. — The book lay there all day. Ik heb het boek op tafel gelegd. — I put the book on the table.

Tip: Gelegen (from liggen) and gelegd (from leggen) look alike, but they come from different verbs. If there's an object you put somewhere, it's gelegd.

Er + positional verb: there is, there are

Where English says "there is" or "there are", Dutch usually says er + a positional verb, not er is:

• Er ligt een brief voor je. — There's a letter for you.
• Er staat een fiets voor de deur. — There's a bike outside the door.
• Er zitten nog twee eieren in de doos. — There are still two eggs in the box.

Our post on the word er covers this use of er in detail. Er is and er zijn are still common for abstract things and for people or events: Er is een probleem. — There's a problem.

Zitten te, staan te: the Dutch progressive

Dutch has no "-ing" form, but it can show that an action is ongoing with zitten, staan, liggen or lopen + te + infinitive. The positional verb tells you the body position at the same time:

• Ik zit te lezen. — I'm (sitting) reading.
• Hij staat al een uur te wachten. — He's been (standing) waiting for an hour.
• De baby ligt te slapen. — The baby is (lying) asleep.
• Ze loopt te zingen. — She's (walking around) singing.
• Ik zat te eten toen je belde. — I was eating when you called.

In the perfect tense, te disappears and you get two infinitives:

• Ik heb de hele avond zitten lezen. — I spent the whole evening reading.

Another way to express "be doing" is aan het + infinitive: Ik ben aan het koken. — I'm cooking. The positional version adds a picture of how you're doing it. More on te constructions in te + infinitive.

Quick summary

• Dutch describes where things are with liggen (flat), staan (upright), zitten (inside or stuck on) and hangen (hanging).
• Text "stands": Het staat in de krant. Places "lie": Utrecht ligt in het midden van het land.
• To put something somewhere: leggen, zetten, stoppen, hangen (and informal doen).
• "There is/are" for objects is usually er ligt/staat/zit/hangt.
• Idioms: Hoe zit het met…?, Dat zit wel goed, Dat ligt eraan, Het ligt aan mij.
• Progressive: Ik zit te lezen; perfect: Ik heb zitten lezen.

Practise it

Describe your furniture and where everything is in At home, say where buildings are in Places in town, and practise er ligt and er staat in The word er. For prepositions like op, in and aan, read prepositions of place.