Die Frau legt den Löffel auf den Teller.

The woman places the spoon on the plate.

Breakdown of Die Frau legt den Löffel auf den Teller.

• die Frau: the woman
• auf: on
• der Teller: the plate
• legen: to place
• der Löffel: the spoon

Questions & Answers about Die Frau legt den Löffel auf den Teller.

Why does die Frau use die instead of der or das?

die is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case. Frau (woman) is a feminine noun, so its subject form (nominative) takes die.

Why is den Löffel in the accusative case?

legen is a transitive verb requiring a direct object. The direct object (the spoon) is masculine (der Löffel), so in the accusative it becomes den Löffel (der → den).

Why does auf den Teller use den again and not dem?

The preposition auf can take either dative or accusative:

• Use dative for location (Wo?).
• Use accusative for direction/movement (Wohin?).
  Here the woman is placing (moving) the spoon onto the plate, so it’s accusative: den Teller (der → den).

What is the difference between legen and liegen?

legen means “to lay (something)” (an action of putting down)—it’s transitive.
liegen means “to lie” (to be lying down)—it’s intransitive, describing a state or position.

Could we say Die Frau legt den Löffel auf dem Teller?

Only if you want to emphasize that the spoon is already on the plate (location), not the action of placing it there. That would mean “The woman lays the spoon on the plate” in the sense of “the spoon lies on the plate.” In the original sense of “she places it there,” you need auf den Teller (accusative).

Why is the verb legt in the second position?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. The finite verb (legt) must be the second element. Here the subject (Die Frau) is first, so legt comes second.

Why are all the nouns capitalized (Frau, Löffel, Teller)?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

Could we replace legen with stellen or setzen?

No.

• stellen is “to place upright” (for things that stand).
• setzen is “to set down” or “to seat (someone).”
  Since a spoon is usually laid flat, legen is the correct verb.

What is the literal word order and what does each part represent?

1. Die Frau – subject in nominative (the woman)
2. legt – finite verb (places/lays)
3. den Löffel – direct object in accusative (the spoon)
4. auf den Teller – prepositional phrase with accusative (onto the plate)