Now everybody has laid their cellphones down. Soon, the entire class was laying their cellphones down. Her teacher told her to lay her cellphone down, so she laid it down on her desk. Here are several examples of the verb lay used in various tenses. In proper usage, there is lie, lay, lying, lain. Now, my dog is lying down in the sunny spot. Here are several examples for the word lie used in various tenses: All of this might seem fairly straightforward if there wasn’t that annoying problem of needing to apply these verbs in tenses other than the present. Unfortunately, the difference between lay and lie is more complicated. I will set this chair here, and later I will sit in it. Like sit and set, another similar pair of transitive/intransitive verbs, it all depends on the action. Lie is an intransitive verb, meaning that it is the action itself. Another way to look at it is to substitute the word put or place for lay. For example, in the present tense, you lay a book down. Lay is a transitive verb, and is dependent on the presence of a direct object – the person or thing which is part of the action.
Also, please note that I am not talking about the transitive verb lie, which is the act of telling an untruth, or the noun lie, which is synonymous with a falsehood.
This is because, while lay and lie are both verbs, they are different types of verbs. The difference essentially falls between what or who is horizontal. But, it is always nice to get it right.īoth lay and lie are verbs related to the action of some one or some thing being in a prone, horizontal position. Even the most articulate and educated among us seem to have problems with the distinctions, and you shouldn’t worry if you get confused. The difference between the usage of lay and lie has been a grammatical nightmare for native English speakers since before the days of Shakespeare. Prepare yourself, because we are going to tackle one of the most confusing issues in proper English.