However, the definitions that often cause
confusion among writers are the use of the verb lay meaning
“to put down, especially gently or carefully” and the use of the verb lie denoting
“to be in or assume a horizontal or resting position on a supporting surface.”
The distinction is actually simple. Lay needs a direct
object, something to be laid.
“Trump calls to lay hacking to rest” (Sky
News Australia)
“Hundreds brave weather to lay wreaths at
Arlington Cemetery” (Fox
News)
“Police lay murder charge following death of
elderly man in Watson Lake, Yukon” (CBC.ca)
Meanwhile, lie cannot be used
with an object.
“Banking standards: treacherous political waters
lie ahead” (The
Guardian)
“‘They are not going to lie down’: Boxing Day hunt crowds remain strong
amid fight to scrap fox hunting ban” (The
Telegraph)
“This new office trend lets you lie down at work”
(MarketWatch)
In this present tense forms of the two words, it
is actually easy to remember. You cannot lay on the sofa and
the army soldiers cannot lie down their guns. It would make no
sense to use these terms in this manner. However, the tricky part would be
their past tense and past participle forms. Below is a table showing the
different forms of these two verbs.
Present
|
Past
|
Past Participle
|
Present Participle
|
Lay
|
Laid
|
Laid
|
Laying
|
Lie
|
Lay
|
Lain
|
Lying
|
Notice that while the forms of lay are
quite easy to remember, the forms of the verb lie may
cause a little confusion to some especially the past tense of lie which
is lay. The persent participle forms may also be tricky as they
only differ with the additional letter a. Here are examples on how
to properly use the different forms of lay and lie:
Examples
Present
Tense
·
The bird lays its
eggs on the nest at the top of the tree.
·
She lies down
on that sofa during break time.
Past Tense
·
The bird laid its
eggs on that nest last week.
·
She lay down
on a different sofa yesterday because the other one was occupied.
Past
Participle
·
The bird has laid its
eggs on that nest for years.
·
She has lain on
that sofa for hours.
Present
Participle
·
The bird has been laying its
eggs on that nest since last year.
·
She has been lying on
that sofa since 10 a.m.