Grammar rant of the day: "lie" vs. "lay."

I know many have bemoaned the misuse of these two words, but really, given how persistent it is, it can't be brought up too often.

The existence of a mix-up between "lay" and "lie" is one that has always baffled me, because for the first 20-some years of my life it never even occurred to me that there could be confusion surrounding them. They were two distinct words, with two distinct sets of conjugations, and that was that. One might as well confuse "swim" with "fly."

But then came the woeful day when I overheard some friends of mine swapping one for the other. After that, I seemed to hear it everywhere. Look, I was no whiz in my English classes. I couldn't diagram a sentence to save my life. I'd raise up the old what are they teaching kids in school nowadays? lament, if it weren't for the fact that those friends were slightly older than me.

(Speaking of teaching: I once read an online discussion of these two words. One person came up with a convoluted and thoroughly inaccurate set of rules for their usage, only to later reveal, to my absolute horror, that she was an English teacher.)

On to the words. This not an exhaustive list of the tenses/participles; it's just a quick guide to the more common ones.


lie
Meaning "to be or place oneself at rest in a flat, horizontal, or recumbent position; recline; to be placed on or supported by a surface that is usually horizontal." This is an intransitive verb; there is no direct object. You cannot "lie something down."

Present tense: I/you/they lie; he/it lies
Examples: "She isn't sleepy, but she lies down anyway." "I just can't sleep; I lie awake nearly every night."

Present Participle: lying
Examples: "Your t-shirt is lying on the couch. It's been lying there for days! At least, I saw it was still lying there ten minutes ago."

Imperative: lie
Example: "Bad dog! Lie down!"

Past tense: lay
Examples: "The top-secret papers lay on the desk for hours before anyone noticed." "As soon as the race ended, he lay down on the grass."

Past Participle: lain
Examples: "The cleanup crew had quit, so the broken glass had lain on the floor for days until the new guy swept it up." "Does she have sunblock? Hasn't she lain there long enough?"


lay
Meaning "to put or set down." This is a transitive verb; there must be a direct object. You have to "lay something down."

Present tense: I/you/they lay; he/it lays
Examples: "The baby seems tired, so Mary lays him in his crib." "The horse is nervous, so I'm extra careful when I lay the saddle-blanket on his back." "He lays his head on the pillow and falls asleep immediately."

Present Participle: laying
Examples: "Now I'm laying out my dress shirt so it won't get wrinkled." "The kids have been laying their heavy book-bags on my glass table for weeks and now it's cracked."
If you write something like "They were laying there," you'd better make sure you're writing about a brood of hens.

Imperative: lay
Example: "Time's up. Lay down your pencils."

Past tense: laid
Examples: "He laid the stack of mail on the coffee table." "I laid the documents in the safe and shut the door." "She laid her hand on his shoulder."
There should never be the phrase "He laid down" in your sentence unless your full sentence reads, "He laid down twenty square feet of linoleum tile in an hour."

Past Participle: laid
Examples: "They have laid the issue to rest." "I thought I had laid my keys on the counter, but I was mistaken."

Grammar rant of the day: "lie" vs. "lay."

I know many have bemoaned the misuse of these two words, but really, given how persistent it is, it can't be brought up too often.

The existence of a mix-up between "lay" and "lie" is one that has always baffled me, because for the first 20-some years of my life it never even occurred to me that there could be confusion surrounding them. They were two distinct words, with two distinct sets of conjugations, and that was that. One might as well confuse "swim" with "fly."

But then came the woeful day when I overheard some friends of mine swapping one for the other. After that, I seemed to hear it everywhere. Look, I was no whiz in my English classes. I couldn't diagram a sentence to save my life. I'd raise up the old what are they teaching kids in school nowadays? lament, if it weren't for the fact that those friends were slightly older than me.

(Speaking of teaching: I once read an online discussion of these two words. One person came up with a convoluted and thoroughly inaccurate set of rules for their usage, only to later reveal, to my absolute horror, that she was an English teacher.)

On to the words. This not an exhaustive list of the tenses/participles; it's just a quick guide to the more common ones.


lie
Meaning "to be or place oneself at rest in a flat, horizontal, or recumbent position; recline; to be placed on or supported by a surface that is usually horizontal." This is an intransitive verb; there is no direct object. You cannot "lie something down."

Present tense: I/you/they lie; he/it lies
Examples: "She isn't sleepy, but she lies down anyway." "I just can't sleep; I lie awake nearly every night."

Present Participle: lying
Examples: "Your t-shirt is lying on the couch. It's been lying there for days! At least, I saw it was still lying there ten minutes ago."

Imperative: lie
Example: "Bad dog! Lie down!"

Past tense: lay
Examples: "The top-secret papers lay on the desk for hours before anyone noticed." "As soon as the race ended, he lay down on the grass."

Past Participle: lain
Examples: "The cleanup crew had quit, so the broken glass had lain on the floor for days until the new guy swept it up." "Does she have sunblock? Hasn't she lain there long enough?"


lay
Meaning "to put or set down." This is a transitive verb; there must be a direct object. You have to "lay something down."

Present tense: I/you/they lay; he/it lays
Examples: "The baby seems tired, so Mary lays him in his crib." "The horse is nervous, so I'm extra careful when I lay the saddle-blanket on his back." "He lays his head on the pillow and falls asleep immediately."

Present Participle: laying
Examples: "Now I'm laying out my dress shirt so it won't get wrinkled." "The kids have been laying their heavy book-bags on my glass table for weeks and now it's cracked."
If you write something like "They were laying there," you'd better make sure you're writing about a brood of hens.

Imperative: lay
Example: "Time's up. Lay down your pencils."

Past tense: laid
Examples: "He laid the stack of mail on the coffee table." "I laid the documents in the safe and shut the door." "She laid her hand on his shoulder."
There should never be the phrase "He laid down" in your sentence unless your full sentence reads, "He laid down twenty square feet of linoleum tile in an hour."

Past Participle: laid
Examples: "They have laid the issue to rest." "I thought I had laid my keys on the counter, but I was mistaken."