Position and Motion: State vs. Action
Swedish uses different verbs for an object's state (resting somewhere) versus the action of putting it there. Intransitive verbs describe the resting state, while transitive verbs describe the action of placing.
The action (transitive) verb often has a mutated vowel (like i changing to ä) and follows a regular conjugation pattern, while the state (intransitive) verb is often an irregular "strong" verb.
Ställa and Stå (Standing)
Use ställa (to put upright) when placing an object. Use stå (to stand) when the object is already there.
Lägga and Ligga (Lying)
For flat or horizontal objects, use lägga (to lay) for the action of placing, and ligga (to lie) for the resting state.
Sätta and Sitta (Sitting)
Similarly, sätta means to place or seat someone or something, whereas sitta means to be seated.
Brinna/Bränna and Sjunka/Sänka
This same vowel mutation pattern applies to other common verb pairs.
brinna means to be on fire (intransitive), while bränna means to burn something (transitive).
Likewise, sjunka means to sink or drop on its own, whereas sänka means to lower something.
In past tenses, the difference in conjugation classes is clear. The strong, intransitive sjunka becomes sjönk, while the regular, transitive bränna takes a standard past tense ending (brände).
Putting It All Together
You will often combine these placement verbs with vocabulary like inreda (to decorate) or möblera (to arrange furniture).