Lie And Lay

The (Loveable) Lie or Lay Page:

When to use a form of the verb "lay" and when to use a form of "lie" has caused countless generations of English Speaking humans zillions of zeroes on grammar quizzes.  

*It's a messy problem. 

If only someone could tell you a story that would demonstrate the proper uses of "lay" and "lie".

Part A) Imagine yourself standing in front of a table.

In your arms you hold a box containing the new computer you just spent three months salary on.

Now, I want you to lay the computer on the table.

Exhausted by the effort you walk to the couch and lie down to take a nap.

Very nice! You have just used "lie" and "lay" correctly!

But the story continues. . .

You arise from your most restful nap and notice that when you lay down you forgot to take your shoes off and your couch is full of mud.

•  

  Hey! Wait a minute. How come you use "lay " the second time you  talked about relaxing on the couch and "lie" the first?

  Good point.

  It is also why this verb is so confusing.

  Here's the answer: "lay" is the past tense of "lie"

  And when you're talking about what you did before, you want the past tense.

  But the beat goes on. . .

With a start you realize that the computer you laid on the table has fallen to the floor and broken its warranty.

•  

  "laid" is the past tense of "lay", see, and since you did the act in the past, you use the past tense! Awright!!!

  And now back to the story. . .

In horror your realize that when you took your nap you sparked off a small earthquake which shook the table and caused your computer to crash.

"Oh, mercy!" you cry out, "If only I had lain in my bed to take my nap, my computer would still be atop of the table!"

•  

  "had lain" is the past participle form of "lie" and since you are describing an act that took a while in the past, you correctly use the past participle form.

  Looking good!

  Our drama unfolds. . .

"Darn!" you cry out to the uncaring universe, "I know better! Aren't I the very same person who had laid out the principles of physics which predicted this event?"

•  

  This time you are describing an event in the past in which you placed something down over a period of time.

  Nothing  but the past participle of "lay" will do: "had laid."

  What a great story!

Here are the six sentences again.

The first three use "lie" or one of its forms.

The second three use "lay" or one of its forms.

There is something about each group of sentences that will always be there (or, hint: not be there) when these verbs are used.

Can you spot (or not spot) the something?  Answer, below.

Using LIE

Exhausted by the effort you walk to the couch and lie down to take a nap.

You arise from your most restful nap and notice that when you lay down you forgot to take your shoes off and your couch is full of mud.

If only I had lain in my bed to take my nap, my computer would still be atop of the table!

Using LAY

Now, I want you to lay the computer on the table.

With a start you realize that the computer you laid on the table has fallen to the floor and broken its warranty.

Aren't I the very same person who had laid out the principles of physics which predicted this event?

Did you see it? All of the "lie" words have no direct object!

All of the "lay" words have a direct object!

That is in the "lie" sentences the subject ("you" "you" and "I") talks about an action, getting horizontal, and that's it.

In the "lay" sentences, the subject ("you" "you" and "I") also talks about an action, placing something down, but now there is a thing (the computer, the computer, the principles) that gets done to.

Go back and check it out; see if I'm right.

Here's the official generalization:

Lie is an intransitive verb (a verb that has no direct object.)

Lay is a transitive verb (a verb that needs a direct object to make any sense.)

To understand this generalization can keep you from ever again using lie/lay incorrectly.

To help you understand even better, here are the principal parts of each verb.

I threw in the participles while I was at it. The participle for "lie" is "lying." The participle for "lay" is "laying."

If the generalization up above is to hold true, in a sentence about being in a horizontal position, "lying" would be correct. 

In a sentence about placing something (direct object) down, "laying" would be correct.

Check out the next two sentences:

No, I won't wash the windows, I'm lying down, dammit!

Now that I've finished the windows, honey, where should I be laying the cleaning rags?

These sentences are correct, but if either of them sounds strange to you, it's because here is another case of our language evolving.

So many people get these two verbs crossed, that the culture in general is probably on the verge of accepting the "incorrect" versions.

Meanwhile, when doing formal papers, please protect yourself with the correct use of lie and lay.

*It was the astute Anne who pointed out the typo so I could write "it's" when I really meant to. We thank her!

PS: If you have used English for your whole life, or even for a few years, you have probably used the verb lay or its past tense, laid, in a sexual context. I mention this, because that usage falls beyond Standard English. It is a colloquial use, and follows its own rules. Try not to get those rules confused with the rules of Standard English. Try especially not to get confused when at parties.