LIE VS LAY
Greetings, fellow English users. Today, I’d like to talk about the two most commonly confused irregular verbs in the English language. They are, in fact, so confusing that even native speakers get them wrong eight times out of ten.
Don’t believe me? I’ve got proof! Let’s listen to some clips I found on the internet.
(If you actually want to hear them, check out my youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnLqT4NmTLc&t=124s )
Clip 1: “They were together. They were there laying on like a bearskin rug ...”
Clip 2: “So I get to the hospital. I go into the room, and Bill’s laying there.”
Clip 3: “Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed…”
Clip 4: “That’s the great thing about these things that are laying around...”
The mistakes are connected with the difference between the verb LIE (to be in a horizontal position) and LAY( to put something down).
The three forms of LIE are: LIE, LAY, LAIN, and the -ing form is LYING.
The three forms of LAY are: LAY, LAID, LAID, and the -ing form is LAYING. The past tense of LIE is the same as the present tense of LAY, and that’s why people mix them up. A quick and easy way to distinguish them is to remember that LAY is a synonym for PUT and usually takes an object. I’m saying “usually” because this doesn’t apply in the passive voice.
Let’s look at our example mistakes again and try to fix them using our little trick.
Clip 1.
“They were there laying on like bearskin rug .”
Should it be LYING or LAYING? Remember, “laying” means “putting”.
“I remember being in class, just putting there...” that doesn’t sound right. So, it must be LYING.
Clip 2.
“So I get to the hospital. I go into the room, and Bill’s laying there.”
So I get to the hospital. I go into the room, and Bill’s putting there...
What was he putting and where? You can see that with “PUTTING”, the sentence doesn’t make sense, so we must use LYING.
The third clip is actually from a famous Bob Dylan song. The mistake is so insidious it even slipped into a popular song.
Bob Dylan sings: “Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed”. In other words: “Put, lady, put, put across my big brass bed” That doesn’t sound right.
There are two ways to improve this one. You can replace LAY with LIE and get
LIE, LADY, LIE, LIE across my big brass bed.
Or you can add an object to the verb. What is the lady supposed to put across the big brass bed? Herself! So, if we say: “Lay, lady, lay, lay YOURSELF across my big brass bed” it sounds much better.
The last one should be easy by now.
“That’s the great thing about these things that are laying around…”
“THINGS ARE LAYING AROUND” means “THINGS ARE PUTTING AROUND.”
Things are LYING around.
SUMMARY:
The three forms of LIE are LIE, LAY, and LAIN. And the three forms of LAY, meaning put, are LAY LAID, LAID. If you aren’t putting anything anywhere, or not talking about chickens laying eggs, stay away from the verb LAY and focus on learning LIE, LAY, LAIN.
For more practice, check out the mini-exercise below.
LIE vs LAY Exercise:
Complete the sentences using the correct form of LIE or LAY.
When the police entered the house, they found the victim ________ in a pool of blood.
The soldiers saw that the situation was hopeless, so they ________ down their weapons and surrendered.
________ down on the mat, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
I ________ in bed for eight hours last night.
The EU has ________ down tough standards for water quality.
Five-hundred people have been ________ off due to the recent shortfall in demand.
What’s the longest you’ve ever ________ in hospital?
Don’t just ______ there! Stand up and do something!
Egg-________ chickens _________ up to one egg a day at their peak.
He ________ himself on the sofa and fell asleep immediately.
Check the answer key below.
Answer Key:
LYING
LAID
LIE
LAY
LAID
LAID
LAIN
LIE
LAYING, LAY
LAID
