Breakdown of Wir sehen die Vorlage auf dem Tisch liegen.
wir
we
der Tisch
the table
sehen
to see
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
liegen
to lie
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Vorlage
the template
Questions & Answers about Wir sehen die Vorlage auf dem Tisch liegen.
Why is there no zu before liegen?
Because sehen (to see) is a verb of perception. Just like modal verbs, verbs of perception take a bare infinitive without zu.
The English translation says "lying". Why does German use the infinitive liegen instead of an "-ing" equivalent?
English often uses the "-ing" form after verbs of perception (like "we see it lying"). German simply uses the basic infinitive (liegen) for this. When you see or hear something doing an action, just put the infinitive of that action at the end of the sentence.
Why is it auf dem Tisch (dative) instead of auf den Tisch (accusative)?
The preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Since the template is already resting there and not moving to a new destination, it answers the question "where?" (location) and must take the dative case (dem Tisch).
Why is liegen at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard German bracket structure. The conjugated verb sehen takes the second position, and any other verbs like the bare infinitive liegen are pushed to the very end of the clause, wrapping around the object and location.
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