Frustrated? Join the Club
English is a beautiful, rich language, full of possibilities. Sometimes it’s frustrating.
Have you ever felt as if you wanted to stand on top of a tower and scream?
For some people, knowing when to use lay or lie can bring out that feeling. As long as I’ve been writing, I sometimes have to stop and make a conscious choice to use lay or lie.
I made a cute chart. Well, at least I think it’s cute. These tiny words can cause a multitude of uncertainty, and perhaps the chart will help.
Definition: The Best Way to Stop the Confusion
When you were in school, the mean teacher, you know the one I mean, told you to look up word definitions in the dictionary.
The dictionary actually helps here.
These words are similar and the meanings are sometimes conflated. So one strategy is to take a close look at the definitions and have a clear understanding of the differences. Of course, it doesn’t help that lay is present tense in one word and past tense in the other.
Look at my cute chart.
It’s easy to see “lay” is the major culprit, causing confusion and head-scratching.
Let’s unravel things.
To Lay is to put an object down. That’s simple. If someone places an object someplace use “lay.”
- Present tense: My mother lay the dog food on the counter.
- Past tense: My father laid the new computer in the middle of the entryway.
- Present Participle: Fred’s sister is laying the dishes on the table.
- Past Participle: The man has laid his keys in the dog’s dish.
The sentence structure is simple: if the subject places an object somewhere, use to lay. I know. I repeated myself, but repetition helps you remember.
To Lie is to rest or recline (“to be, to stay, or to assume rest in a horizontal position”). In this case, the subject is reclining or resting in a horizontal position.
- Present tense: I lie down to read.
- Past tense: My mother lay on the couch.
- Present Participle: The cat is lying on the floor.
- Past Participle: My sister has lain in bed all morning.
Yes, lain is an odd word. I’m not sure I’ve ever used it, but if you want to use the past participle of lie, lain is correct.
Key: notice there is not an object. Sentence structure: if a subject reclines in a horizontal position, use lie.
Are You With Me?
I’m imagining a yes answer. However, in my freshman composition classes, there was always a student who brought up the common children’s bedtime prayer. Even if you’ve never said it, you know the one I mean. “Now I lay me down to sleep.”
I can see your smile, either you’re thinking, “Got ya” or “That prayer’s wrong.” Well, the prayer is correct, and understanding why is where the definitions help.
Now I (subject) lay (verb) me (object) down to sleep. If the prayer had been “Now I lie down to sleep”, lie would be correct, but the way the sentence is structured, the child is placing herself (the object) down.
I know. It gives me a headache too. Just go with lay in sentences where someone places an object (even if the object is self) somewhere. Most of the time, your sentences are going to be pretty straightforward. The oddball sentences only come up occasionally.
The Other Lie
The other lie is easy: a falsehood, an untrue statement. I don’t think anyone gets confused about this word. I lie. I lied. I am lying. I have lied.
Easy and not confusing. Don’t you wish all verbs were consistent?
The Usual Reminders
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