Dutch Verbs of Position

As you know, Dutch verbs of position describe the position or location of a person or object. These verbs are used very often in everyday Dutch, but there are different verbs for when the person or object is moving.

When the object or person is not moving

staan	liggen	zitten	hangen	lopen
When the thing stands on wheels or legs.	Geograpic locations.	When it’s in something.	When it hangs.	When it’s a long form alongside something or from A to B.
Vertical position.	horizontal position.
When it’s on/in files, text, information and pictures.

Een paar voorbeelden:

Werkwoord	Vertaling	Zin	Vertaling
staan	to stand	De melk staat in de koelkast.	The milk is in the fridge.
liggen	to lie	Mijn studieboeken liggen op tafel.	My textbooks are on the table.
zitten	to sit	De blauwe pen zit in mijn tas	The blue pen is in my purse.
hangen	to hang	Onze familiefoto hangt aan de muur.	Our family photo hangs on the wall.
lopen	to walk	De verwarmingsbuis loopt langs de muur.	The heating pipe runs along the wall.

When the person or object is moving

• zetten (instead of staan). We use leggen (instead of liggen).

• doen (instead of zitten).

• ophangen (instead of hangen).

Een paar voorbeelden:

Werkwoord	Vertaling	Zin	Vertaling
zetten	to put	Ik zet de melk in de koelkast.	I put the milk in the fridge.
leggen	to put, place	Jan legt zijn studieboeken op tafel.	Jan puts his textbooks on the table.
doen	to put (in something)	Ik doe de blauwe pen in mijn tas.	I put the blue pen in my purse.
(op)hangen	to hang	Mijn moeder hangt onze familiefoto aan de muur (op*).	My mother hangs our family photo on the wall.