Layed down? Lied down? Lay down?

[jfalkon]

I was writing an anthology entry recently and got stuck on how to say that two people layed/lay/lied down. I can never remember which is which and the gramer checker on my computer confuses me. Which do you use when?

[David McLeod]

Lay-lie.

 

Lay is (almost always) a transitive active verb that requires a direct object. It means, usually "to place or put." Now, I lay the book on the table; yesterday, I laid it on the floor. Yesterday, the hen laid an egg. Somewhere in the world, a hen is laying an egg. I have laid the book on the table many times before today. I am at this moment laying the book on the table. Many hens have laid eggs.

 

Lie is an intransitive verb. It means, usually, to recline, to rest, to remain, or to be situated. I lie on the couch. The book lies on the table. He lay motionless all last night. We have lain on the couch. He is lying on the couch. The city lies in the valley. I knew that the city lay in the valley. We lie in ambush and wait. We lay in ambush but no one came through the pass. We have lain in the bed for a long time.

 

Present/ Present Participle/ Past/ Past Participle (Past Perfect)

lie/ lying/ lay/ have lain

lay/ laying/ laid/ have laid

 

[i cannot get these to line up with either spaces or the tab key; the slash marks should help clarify what is supposed to be a table with four columns.]

 

How to remember: lay=place; lie = recline (but be careful of the past tense of lie!)

 

Hope this helps.

Edited March 19, 2009 by David McLeod

[Sir Galahad]

Interesting question, & David pretty much summed it up. But try this anyway.

 

Lie = Someone told a lie. // To lie on the bed

Lay = I want to lay on the bed

Laid = He got laid. // She laid on the bed

Lays = She lays down

Laying = I

Edited March 19, 2009 by Sir_Galahad

[rec]

It's a good think this post and followups are not in the Editors Forum. The answers would be entirely different.

[AFriendlyFace]

Well, speaking for myself, I think an editor's point of view is welcome.

 

Personally, I pride myself on generally knowing the correct grammar to use and being able to use it. Yes, I make mistakes, but I can generally understand my mistakes, learn from them, and move on. This is not the case with Lay/Lie. It is by far the construction I have the most trouble with. I generally have some trouble with affect/effect too, but I can actually usually get it right if I give it some thought. With Lay/Lie thinking about it just plain doesn't help. I have to look it up every single time and never remember for next time. I'm usually able to figure it out if I am looking it up, but learning it, just doesn't seem to work. For whatever reason I've never been able to make this one sink in.

 

Actually, when I was a kid I could do this with no trouble. The first time I ever learned it I picked it up right away and it stuck with me pretty much through all of grade school and junior high. By high school I was hazy on it, and from there I've never been able to relearn it such that it would stay with me. So in conclusion, by the end of puberty I was ready to get laid, but unsure if I'd been laid or lain.

 

Anyway, I've more or less given up; when I write I just keep a resource handy that will tell me which is correct (FYI, that resource is called Sharon )

 

-Kevin

[jfalkon]

Thanks for explainng. I can keep it straigth while I am looking at the explanation. As soon as I look away the moment of clarity ends. I guess it is one of those things you have to memorize.

 

English is difficult. Maybe I should learn Spanish.

[Mark Arbour]

I always f**k these up. I gave up and decided it was easier to find good editors.

[TalonRider]

It's a good think this post and followups are not in the Editors Forum. The answers would be entirely different.

You might be right on that, rec.

 

I don't normally comment here in the Writer Corner.

 

For myself, when grammar/spell check points it out, I don't always agree with it. I will study it and use different words to see which sounds best. Then if needs changed, I make the suggestion.

[BeaStKid]

You might be right on that, rec.

 

I don't normally comment here in the Writer Corner.

 

For myself, when grammar/spell check points it out, I don't always agree with it. I will study it and use different words to see which sounds best. Then if needs changed, I make the suggestion.

I do the exact same thing. Take the word 'herself' for example....Spellchecker always underlines that word for some unfound reason....I have learnt to take the checker with a grain of salt and rely on my own abilities to judge whether the word/sentence is correct or not. And since none of the authors that I work with have ever complained, I think I may have been doing something right after all...

 

 

BeaStKid :bsk

[Tipdin]

I always f**k these up. I gave up and decided it was easier to find good editors.

 

I like that!

 

A relative of mine, a published author, has said many times that having TWO editors has made them twice as good as they would have been otherwise.

[AFriendlyFace]

I actually came across a resource that really helped:

 

http://www.doobybrain.com/2007/10/12/gramm...ying-vs-laying/

 

1. Try the