Auf der Kommode im Flur liegt mein Schlüsselbund.

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Breakdown of Auf der Kommode im Flur liegt mein Schlüsselbund.

• mein: my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
• liegen: to lie
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)

Questions & Answers about Auf der Kommode im Flur liegt mein Schlüsselbund.

Why does the sentence begin with Auf der Kommode im Flur instead of mein Schlüsselbund?

German is flexible about what comes first in a main clause. The first position is often used for the information the speaker wants to highlight.

Here, Auf der Kommode im Flur is placed first to emphasize the location. In English, we usually keep the subject first, but in German this is very normal.

Even when something other than the subject comes first, the finite verb still has to stay in second position in a main clause. So the structure is:

• Auf der Kommode im Flur = position 1
• liegt = position 2
• mein Schlüsselbund = subject after the verb

So this is a standard German word order pattern, not an unusual one.

Why is liegt before mein Schlüsselbund?

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

That means the conjugated verb must come in the second position, no matter what element is first. Since Auf der Kommode im Flur takes the first position, liegt must come next.

So:

• Auf der Kommode im Flur → first slot
• liegt → second slot
• mein Schlüsselbund → comes after the verb

In English, this would sound more marked, but in German it is completely natural.

Why is it auf der Kommode and not auf die Kommode?