Who has never been confused when using “lay” and "Lie"? We have an enormous facility to misuse these verbs, given that they have many similarities. In addition to having similar meanings, their verbal variations are also quite similar. So how do you tell them apart and know when to use each one? There are some usage structures that can help to choose and identify each of these verbs. Check out!
→ The definition of each of them:
The definition of each of them:
LAY:means to put something or someone down.
It means: placing something or someone in a horizontal position.
LIE:means to rest or recline.
It means rest or recline.
Look:
lay is a transitive verb and a direct object will come after it.
Lay is a transitive verb and is followed by a direct object.Lie is an intransitive verb, so there isn't object.
Lie is an intransitive verb, so there is no object.
Tips on using lay and Lie:
→ When you come across these verbs in a sentence, try to differentiate them by the direct object. If not, then it is the verb “lie”.
Examples:
"The beauty lies in finding where I belong."
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
"I can help you lay the coffee table." (the coffee table is the direct object)
Another complication is that the past of the verb "lie" is exactly "lay" (infinitive form of the verb "lay"), so, in a sentence with the past of the verb "lie", it will be: "they were so tired that they lay to bed early last night."
In cases like this, the best thing to do is to check the tense and look for the direct object, which, in this case, is not present, since it is the verb “lie”.
→ Another form of differentiation is the other verbal variations:
The past participle of the verb "lie" is "lain", and its gerund form is "lying". In the verb “lay”, the past and past participle have the same form: “laid”. The gerund is "laying".
→ To help identify them, we can change the verb lay per put and the verb lie per rest.
See the examples:
Everyday, Serena lays her books on the table. = serene puts her books on the table.
be careful, don't liein the sun for too long. = restsin the sun.
By Janaína Mourão
Graduated in Letters - English
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
MOURãO, Janaína Pereira. "Use of “lay” and “lie” in English"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/ingles/uso-lay-lie-ingles.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
