Breakdown of Bleibt die Frau still liegen, wenn das Tattoo schmerzhaft ist?
sein
to be
die Frau
the woman
bleiben
to stay
liegen
to lie
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Tattoo
the tattoo
schmerzhaft
painful
still
still (quiet, motionless)
Questions & Answers about Bleibt die Frau still liegen, wenn das Tattoo schmerzhaft ist?
Why is it liegen instead of zu liegen?
The verb bleiben (to stay) is one of the few special verbs in German that takes a bare infinitive without zu. Just like modal verbs, it pairs directly with the infinitive, so sie bleibt liegen means "she stays lying".
Why are bleibt and liegen separated?
This uses the classic German verb bracket. Because this is a yes/no question, the conjugated verb bleibt takes the first position. The infinitive liegen is pushed to the very end of the main clause, wrapping around the subject and the adverb.
Is the German word still a direct translation of the English word "still"?
Only when it means "motionless" or "quiet," like in this sentence (still liegen). If you want to use "still" to mean an action is continuing (like "she is still reading"), you have to use noch or immer noch, never still.
Can wenn mean both "when" and "if" in this sentence?
Yes! The word wenn is used for conditional statements ("if") and temporal statements in the present or future ("when"). Given the context, this could easily be translated as "if the tattoo is painful" or "when the tattoo is painful".
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the sentence?
The word wenn is a subordinating conjunction. It starts a subordinate clause and forces its conjugated verb (ist) to the very end of that specific clause.
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