A2-7 · Where to put the boxes
Moving house
Use accusative destination phrases and distinguish stellen from stehen and legen from liegen.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Put the boxes in place
On moving day, Ada gives instructions about destinations. With two-way prepositions, wohin asks where something is going. Use the accusative: der becomes den, while die and das keep their forms.
Ich stelle den Karton in den Flur.
I put the box in the hallway.
Du stellst die Lampe neben die Tür.
You put the lamp next to the door.
Wir stellen den Tisch vor das Fenster.
We put the table in front of the window.
Ich stelle den Stuhl ins Wohnzimmer.
I put the chair in the living room.
Stellen describes putting something in a standing position. The destination takes the accusative: in den Flur, neben die Tür, vor das Fenster. Ins is short for in das.
02
Lay it down, then say where it is
Legen describes placing something in a lying position. Liegen describes its location afterwards. Compare the same book and key before and after placement. The destination uses accusative; the location uses dative.
Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch.
I put the book on the table.
Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.
The book is lying on the table.
Ich lege den Schlüssel in die Schublade.
I put the key in the drawer.
Der Schlüssel liegt in der Schublade.
The key is lying in the drawer.
Learn the pairs as actions and results: legen → liegen, stellen → stehen. The choice of case follows the meaning of the preposition phrase, not a rule that all movement takes the accusative.
03
Check the new room
The boxes are unpacked. Ada moves a chair and some books, then checks their positions. Ask wohin for the placement and wo for the result.
Ich stelle den Stuhl hinter den Tisch.
I put the chair behind the table.
Der Stuhl steht hinter dem Tisch.
The chair is behind the table.
Wir stellen die Bücher ins Regal.
We put the books on the shelf.
Die Bücher stehen jetzt im Regal.
The books are now on the shelf.
Compare hinter den Tisch with hinter dem Tisch, and ins Regal with im Regal. Den marks a masculine accusative destination; dem marks a masculine or neuter dative location.
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