Learn Hardcore German: Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?

Statement: Du kannst meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen.
(You can put my passport on the table.)
Question: Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
(Can you put my passport on the table?)

So for questions without a question word (like warum, wann), the verb usually comes first, followed by the subject.

Why does legen go at the end of the sentence?

Kannst is a modal verb; legen is the main verb (the action).
In German, with a modal verb, the modal is conjugated and goes into the second position, and the main verb stays in the infinitive at the end:

Kannst du … legen?
Ich kann meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen.
Wir wollen morgen früh losfahren.

This “conjugated verb in 2nd position, infinitive at the end” pattern is very typical in German main clauses with modal verbs.

Why is it meinen Pass and not mein Pass?

The possessive mein has to agree with the gender and case of the noun.

Pass is masculine (der Pass).
In this sentence, Pass is the direct object (the thing being put), so it’s accusative case.
Masculine singular in accusative takes -en: meinen.

So:

Nominative: mein Pass (My passport is new. → Mein Pass ist neu.)
Accusative: meinen Pass (I have my passport. → Ich habe meinen Pass.)

Here we are “putting” the passport, so we need the accusative form: meinen Pass.

How do I know that Pass is masculine (and not feminine or neuter)?

You usually have to learn the gender together with the noun. Dictionaries will show:

der Pass (masculine)
die Tasche (feminine)
das Buch (neuter)

Some patterns help, but there are many exceptions. For example, many nouns for male people are masculine (der Vater, der Lehrer), many for female people are feminine (die Mutter, die Lehrerin). But for objects like Pass, you mostly have to memorize it with its article: der Pass.

Why is it auf den Tisch and not auf dem Tisch?

The preposition auf can take either accusative or dative.

Accusative: when there is movement to a destination (where to?)
Dative: when it’s just location (where?).

In your sentence, the passport is being moved onto the table:

auf den Tisch legen → movement towards the table → accusative (den Tisch)

Compare:

He puts the passport on the table.
→ Er legt den Pass auf den Tisch. (accusative, movement)
The passport is on the table.
→ Der Pass liegt auf dem Tisch. (dative, location)

So:
legen + auf + accusative (movement),
liegen + auf + dative (location).

What’s the difference between auf den Tisch legen and auf dem Tisch liegen?

auf den Tisch legen
- Verb: legen (to lay/put something flat)
- Emphasis: the action of putting it there (movement).
- Takes accusative after auf: den Tisch.
auf dem Tisch liegen
- Verb: liegen (to lie, to be lying/located)
- Emphasis: the state/location of something that is already there.
- Takes dative after auf: dem Tisch.

Examples:

Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
Can you put my passport on the table?
Dein Pass liegt auf dem Tisch.
Your passport is (lying) on the table.

Why do I need den Tisch and not just auf Tisch?

In German, countable singular nouns almost always need an article:

auf dem Tisch (on the table)
in der Tasche (in the bag)
unter dem Bett (under the bed)

Saying auf Tisch is normally wrong or at least very unusual.
There are some fixed expressions without articles (e.g. im Krankenhaus, zu Hause), but Tisch is not one of them in this context. So you use the definite article:

auf den Tisch legen
auf dem Tisch stehen

Could I say auf den Tisch meinen Pass legen or Kannst du meinen Pass legen auf den Tisch? Is that wrong?

The standard and most natural word order is:

Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?

Other orders are possible but sound marked, more poetic, or emphasize something:

Kannst du auf den Tisch meinen Pass legen?
(Slight emphasis on on the table, maybe contrasting with another place.)

Putting legen earlier, like Kannst du meinen Pass legen auf den Tisch?, is generally not idiomatic in modern standard German.
In main clauses with modal verbs, keep the infinitive verb at the very end and keep the prepositional phrase (auf den Tisch) just before it in ordinary speech.

Could I use a different verb instead of legen, like stellen, tun, or setzen?

Yes, but the meaning or naturalness changes:

legen – to lay something down flat (horizontal position)
- Best for a passport: Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
stellen – to stand something upright (vertical position)
- For bottles, vases, etc.: Stell die Flasche auf den Tisch.
setzen – to seat someone, or put something in a sitting position
- Setz das Kind auf den Stuhl.
tun – to put/do (very general, can sound vague or colloquial)
- Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch tun?
  Understandable, but legen is more precise and natural here.

So for a passport on a flat surface, legen is the best choice.

How would I say this politely to someone I don’t know well?

Use Sie instead of du, and usually add bitte:

Können Sie bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
(Could you please put my passport on the table?)

You can also make it slightly more tentative with könnten (conditional):

Könnten Sie bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
(Would you please put my passport on the table?)

Is Kannst du …? asking about ability (“are you able?”) or is it just a request?

In everyday German, Kannst du …? usually works as a request, not a literal question about ability—very similar to English Can you…?:

Kannst du mir helfen?
→ Often means “Please help me,” not “Are you physically able to help me?”

If you specifically want to emphasize politeness, add bitte or use könntest du / könnten Sie:

Kannst du bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
Könntest du bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
Könnten Sie bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen? (formal)

Why do we use auf here and not another preposition like an or über?

auf means “on (top of)” a surface, with contact:

auf den Tisch legen – to put something on the (top of the) table
auf den Boden legen – to put something on the floor

Other prepositions express different relationships:

an – next to / at / against a vertical surface
- an die Wand hängen – hang on the wall
über – over/above, not necessarily touching
- über den Tisch halten – hold above the table

A passport placed on a table is on the surface, so auf is the correct preposition.

Is there any difference between Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen? and Du kannst meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen, oder?

Yes, mainly in tone and structure:

Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
→ Direct yes–no question / request.
Du kannst meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen, oder?
→ Statement plus a question tag (oder? = “right?”).
This can sound a bit more like you’re assuming agreement, or just confirming.

Both are grammatical. For a simple polite request, the direct question with bitte is most common:

Kannst du bitte meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?

How do you pronounce Kannst du? It sounds different when spoken fast.

In careful speech, you would say:

Kannst – [kanst] (the st is pronounced as in stand in English)
du – [duː]

In fast, casual speech, many native speakers blend them so it can sound like:

Kannst du → something like “kanstu”

This is just natural connected speech; the written form stays kannst du.

Is there a more “English-like” structure, like saying “Can you to put my passport on the table?” in German?

No. In German you do not use zu after modal verbs:

Correct: Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch legen?
Incorrect: Kannst du meinen Pass auf den Tisch zu legen?

With modal verbs (können, müssen, wollen, sollen, dürfen, mögen), the main verb is a bare infinitive at the end—no zu:

Ich will gehen. (I want to go.)
Wir müssen arbeiten. (We have to work.)
Sie kann schwimmen. (She can swim.)