Fjones
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,326
This is a minor peeve, because it's a tricky grammar issue and most people do it wrong. But We need to go over the use of "Lie" and "Lay."
The word "Lie," as in "to not tell the truth," is easy and is rarely used incorrectly.
"I do not lie." "I have never lied." He lied."
But, often misused is the word "Lie," as in, "I want to lie down," and the word "lay," as in "please lay the book on that table."
So, here is a quick cheat sheet:
1) If you are tired or want to take a nap, you are going to LIE down. If you are in the act of doing so, you are LYING down. If you have been goofing around all day, you have been LYING around the house doing nothing.
The following are incorrect:
"I was laying in the bed all day"
"I was laying in the sun for hours."
The confusion likely stems from the past tense of the verb, which is "lay." This is rather annoying. So, if you are speaking in the past tense, you would be correct to say "I LAY in bed all day." "He LAY in the sun all day."
Further complicating matters is the transitive verb "Lay," meaning to place something on something else. The past tense of this verb is "laid," as in, "He laid the book on the table."
English is an annoying language in many ways. It has way too many peeves.
The word "Lie," as in "to not tell the truth," is easy and is rarely used incorrectly.
"I do not lie." "I have never lied." He lied."
But, often misused is the word "Lie," as in, "I want to lie down," and the word "lay," as in "please lay the book on that table."
So, here is a quick cheat sheet:
1) If you are tired or want to take a nap, you are going to LIE down. If you are in the act of doing so, you are LYING down. If you have been goofing around all day, you have been LYING around the house doing nothing.
The following are incorrect:
"I was laying in the bed all day"
"I was laying in the sun for hours."
The confusion likely stems from the past tense of the verb, which is "lay." This is rather annoying. So, if you are speaking in the past tense, you would be correct to say "I LAY in bed all day." "He LAY in the sun all day."
Further complicating matters is the transitive verb "Lay," meaning to place something on something else. The past tense of this verb is "laid," as in, "He laid the book on the table."
English is an annoying language in many ways. It has way too many peeves.