Breakdown of Die Waffe, die auf dem Tisch liegt, ist gefährlich.
sein
to be
der Tisch
the table
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
liegen
to lie
gefährlich
dangerous
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Waffe
the weapon
Questions & Answers about Die Waffe, die auf dem Tisch liegt, ist gefährlich.
Why are there two dies separated by a comma?
The first die is the article for Waffe (the weapon). The second die is a relative pronoun meaning "that" or "which". It refers back to die Waffe. Because Waffe is a feminine noun and acts as the subject of the middle part of the sentence, the relative pronoun is also die.
Why is the verb liegt placed right before the second comma?
The phrase die auf dem Tisch liegt is a relative clause (a mini-sentence that describes a noun). In German, relative clauses always push their conjugated verb (liegt) all the way to the end of that clause.
Why does the sentence use liegt (lies) instead of just saying the weapon "is" on the table?
In English, we usually just say something "is" somewhere. In German, it is much more common to describe exactly how an object is positioned. Since a weapon typically rests flat, German uses liegen (to lie). If an object were standing upright, you would use stehen (to stand).
Why is it auf dem Tisch and not auf den Tisch?
auf (on) is a "two-way" preposition. It uses the Accusative case for movement toward a destination, and the Dative case for a fixed location. Since the weapon is just resting there (answering "where?", not "where to?"), we use the Dative case. Tisch is masculine (der Tisch), which changes to dem Tisch in the Dative.
Do I always need commas around phrases like die auf dem Tisch liegt?
Yes! In English, you can often leave out commas around "that..." clauses, but German strictly requires commas to fence off a relative clause from the main sentence. Notice how the main sentence (Die Waffe... ist gefährlich) pauses for the relative clause and then resumes immediately after the second comma.
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