Das Negativ liegt neben dem Flachbettscanner.

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Breakdown of Das Negativ liegt neben dem Flachbettscanner.

• liegen: to lie (be located)
• das Negativ: the negative (photography)
• der Flachbettscanner: the flatbed scanner

Questions & Answers about Das Negativ liegt neben dem Flachbettscanner.

Why is it das Negativ and not der or die Negativ?

Negativ is a neuter noun in German, so its nominative singular article is das.

• das Negativ = the negative

This is something you usually just have to learn with the noun. In German, every noun has a grammatical gender:

• der = masculine
• die = feminine
• das = neuter

Here, das Negativ is the subject of the sentence.

What exactly does Negativ mean here?

Here, Negativ means a photographic negative, not a negative opinion or a minus sign.

German often uses the same word in different contexts, just like English does with negative. In this sentence, the context makes it clear that it is the film/photo meaning, especially because it is next to a Flachbettscanner.

Why does the sentence use liegt instead of ist?