Okay... let me be honest - I hate the lay, lie and laid.... they drive me nuts. When I am struggling ... I pull out this old article and read it through-- it's another great blog from Brian A. Klems. I thought I would share it with you.
Don’t
forget about “lain,” my friend! All these verbs have two things in common: They
begin with the letter “L” and confuse the bejeezus out of many people. But
here’s a simple breakdown that will hopefully help you decipher when to use
each one and when to use their past-tense equivalents (I’ve also included a
handy chart at the end to help, but we’ll get to that later).
Lay
Lay
and lie are both present-tense verbs, but they don’t mean quite the same thing.
Lay means to put or set something down, so if the subject is acting on an
object, it’s “lay.” For example, I lay down the book. You, the subject, set down the book, the object.
Lie
Lie,
on the other hand, is defined as, “to be, to stay or to assume rest in a
horizontal position,” so the subject is the one doing the lying—I lie down to sleep or When I pick up a copy of my favorite magazine, Writer’s Digest, I lie down to take in all its great
information—and not acting on an object. In both these cases, you, the subject, are setting yourself
down. Are you with me so far?
I Lie Down vs. Now I Lay Me Down (to Sleep)
To
clarify things further, I’ll answer this question that you’re probably
wondering: How can you be lying down in your examples while the classic nighttime
prayer for kids clearly begins “Now I lay me down to sleep”? You must be out of your mind! It’s true, I’m totally out of my mind, but
both the examples I used and the kids’ prayer are correct—and here’s why.
In
I lie down to sleep, there is no object to the sentence, just
subject (I). In Now I lay me down
to sleep, there is a subject
(I) and an object (me). Even though the subject and object are one and the
same, the object is still present in the sentence, so you must use lay.
Laid vs. Lay vs. Lain
In
the past tense, “lay” becomes “laid” (Last week I laid down the law and told her it was
inappropriate for her to pick her nose) and “lie” becomes “lay” (Yesterday she lay down for a nap that afternoon and
picked her nose anyway).
Yes, “lay” is also the past tense of “lie.” And the confusion doesn’t end
there.
To
throw you for another loop, “laid” is also the past participle form of “lay.”
So, when helping verbs are involved, “lay” becomes “laid” and “lie” becomes
“lain.” Grandma had laid the
chicken in the oven earlier this morning. The chicken had lain
there all day until it was cooked all the way through and ready for us to eat.
Remember:
Lay and laid both mean to set something down, while lie, lay and lain all mean
the subject is setting itself down.
And
now, I lay this question to rest. (Enjoy this totally awesome chart below to
help you keep track of when to use lay, lie, laid, lain and more.)
Lay vs. Lie Chart
Infinitive
Definition Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
to
lay to put or place lay(s) laid laid laying
something down
something down
to
lie to rest or recline lie(s) lay lain lying
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