from the 100% free Hear Dutch Here Website
Short    Liggen  'to lie (down)' - zitten  'to sit' - staan  'to stand' - lopen  'to walk'
Hij lag in bed 2 He was lying in bed Hij zat bij 't raam He was sitting at the window op eigen benen staan 2 3 4 5 standing on your own [legs] feet, be independent Ik heb een uur gelopen 2 I walked for an hour
Next to the literal sense like in the examples above, these verbs are also used in the Dutch Continuous/Progressive (de) duurvorm 2
Ze lagen te slapen They were sleeping Ik zat te wachten op een telefoontje I was waiting for a phone call Hij stond te praten met Piet He was talking to Piet We liepen naar de vogels te luisteren 2 We were listening to the birds
In a third use, these verbs are used to describe a situation at a location and are usually just translated as 'to be' in English
De nadruk ligt op ... 2 The [emphasis] focus is on .. Er zit een gat in 't dak 2 There's a hole in the roof 't Staat onder water 2 It's under water, it's flooded Er loopt een kat in de tuin 2 There's a cat in the yard
Likewise using Dutch 'to be' zijn  in lines like these, people will understand what your mean: De nadruk is op ... Er is een gat in 't dak 't Is onder water Er is een kat in de tuin But it's far better Dutch to use liggen/zitten/staan/lopen
The Dutch Continuous/Progressive Complete Conjugation of the Verbs and many Examples of Usage: Liggen - Zitten - Staan - Lopen
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Thank you Frederick Roberts for asking about the 3rd use email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2025. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, or hotlinked to. Gij zult niet stelen 'Thou shalt not steal'