You lay down the book you have been reading, but you lie down when you go to bed. In the present tense, if the subject is acting on some other object, it’s “lay.” If the subject is lying down, then it’s “lie.” This distinction is often not made in informal speech, partly because in the past tense the words sound much more alike: “He lay down for a nap,” but “He laid down the law.” If the subject is already at rest, you might “let it lie.” If a helping verb is involved, you need the past participle forms. “Lie” becomes “lain” and “lay” becomes “laid”: “He had just lain down for a nap,” and “His daughter had laid the gerbil on his nose.”
Richard and I often get this wrong. As a memory peg Richard and I came up with this:
"Once you lay your carpeting you may lie on it."
"When Richard and I lie in bed on Sundays we like to lay out the New York Times."
"You can lay grocery items in a cart, but children often lie in grocery carts."
Richard and I are glad that English is not our second language.
Always stay sweet,
Sweetheart - the Shaggy Grammarian
Sweetie,
ReplyDeleteLay Sweetie lay upon my big brass bed.
Gem
Why wait any longer for the one you love,
ReplyDeletewhen he's lying right next to you.
Gem
Sweetie,
ReplyDeleteYou can have your cake and eat it too.
Stay Sweetie stay, stay with your man a while.
Until the end of day I wanna see you make him (Rich) smile.
Gem
Cheney was lying to us on the run up to the war. The Repulicans want to lay on their rich white fat asses while Rome burns. They have laid an egg for the past 8 years, but they would rather throw lye in the face of the working man rather than get Rush mad at them.
ReplyDeleteGem
Goodness! Gem, Gem, Gem ...
ReplyDeleteMr. Bush was a bit inarticulate, but hardly a demon. Indeed they laid the Iraq War on us and many of our best are lying at Arlington as a result ... but "lye in the face" they would not throw. Lob perhaps, bnut not throw.
U. J.