English Grammar Lesson

English Skill Building – 165

Lie and Lay – The correct way to use them without any confusion

Removing the confusion in the use of the words “lie’ and “lay’

The confusion arises because of the meanings of the two words in their present and past tenses.

Meanings

Lie (Meaning 1) – Be in a horizontal position
Lie (Meaning 2) – Make a false statement
Lay (Only one meaning) – Put something down

It is interesting to know how these words change in different tenses.

Lie (Meaning 1 – Be in horizontal position)

Present tense – Lie and Lies
Present and past continuous – Lying
Past – Lay
Past participle – Lain

Examples

Present tense: In this spot the brave policeman was felled by the drug mafia. Now, his coffin lies here in this spot 15 meters under his tomb.

Past simple tense: The girl failed in her test. Last night, she lay on her bed and wept.
Present continuous tense: She suffered sun-stroke on her way back from college. She’s lying down, but feeling O.K now.
Past perfect tense: For more than three years her son had lain in a coma.

Lie (Meaning 2 – Make a false statement)

Present tense – Lie, Lies
Present and past continuous – Lying
Past – Lied
Past participle – Lied

Example

Present tense: He lies to everyone in his family, including his mother.

Past simple tense: I lied about my age to get the job.

Present continuous tense: The wife complained, “You say you like me, but I know you’re lying.”

Past perfect tense: The judge knew that he had lied at the trial.

Point to note carefully – Source of confusion is the word “lay”. It is the past tense of the word ‘lie’ in its meaning 1. It is also the present tense of the word ‘lay’.

When you are tired, you may say, “I want to lie down on the bed for some time.”

It will be a mistake to say, “I want to lay down on the bed for some time.”

Another example – In the sea beach the tortoise lies on its back. This is correct. It is incorrect to say, “In the sea beach the tortoise lays on its back.”

Other very common errors

(i) Use of ‘lie’ in the meaning 1 .. It is wrong to say, “Her brother’s misfortune made her to openly show feelings that had lied dormant for some time.”

It should be, “Her brother’s misfortune made her to openly show feelings that had lain dormant for some time.

(ii) It is wrong to say, “I laid down on my bed and went to sleep.”

It is correct to say, “I lay down on my bed and went to sleep.”

(iii) It is wrong to say, “The nurse is laying flat on her back after a hard day’s work in the hospital.

It should be, “The nurse is lying flat on her back after a hard day’s work in the hospital.”
It is wrong to say, “When the President died, he was lain in an ornate wooden coffin.”
It is correct to say, “When the President died, he was laid in an ornate wooden coffin”.