The transitive verb lay means to put or place; it takes a direct object. The intransitive verb lie means to rest or recline; it does not take a direct object.
Don't confuse the past and past participle forms of these verbs:
- LAY (present), laid (past), and laid (past participle)
- LIE (present), lay (past), and lain (past participle)
Examples:
- Remember: chickens lay eggs; people lie down.
- "In politics, strangely enough, the best way to play your cards is to lay them face upward on the table." (H. G. Wells)
- "The lion and the calf shall lie down together, but the calf won't get much sleep." (Woody Allen)
- "The lion lay down beside them to watch, but he also was so weary with the fight, that he called to the bear and said, 'Lie down near me, I must sleep a little: if anything comes, waken me.' Then the bear lay down beside him." (Grimm Brothers, "The Two Brothers")
- The pumpkin that I had laid on the porch lay there for a month.
- "On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died." (Adlai E. Stevenson)
Corrections:
"English department: from a television review, page 18, December 10: 'The victim lays on the ground, sobbing.' That should be 'The victim lies on the ground,' or if the past tense is wanted, 'The victim lay on the ground.'"
(Corrections and Clarifications, The Guardian, December 14, 1999)
Usage Notes:
- "A frustrating pair. Here's the deal. In the present tense, lay is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object: you lay something down. Lie doesn't take a direct object: something just lies there. If you're tired of holding something, you should lay it down; if you're not feeling well, you should lie down. (Of course, I'm excluding lie, 'tell an untruth'--this is just the reclining lie.
"Not too bad: if this were the whole deal, there'd be nothing to worry about. But it gets messier, because the past tense of lay is laid, and the past tense of lie is, well, lay."
(Jack Lynch, "Lay versus Lie," The English Language: A User's Guide. Focus Publishing, 2008) - "There have been some difficulties with grammar since I last wrote. Lay is a transitive verb (I lay down a case of claret every month; she laid the table), lie an intransitive one (he lies over there; she lay in bed until noon). Do not confuse them."
(Simon Heffer, "Style Notes 28: February 12, 2010." The Daily Telegraph) - "If the grammarians and the schoolmasters and the schoolmarms and the usage writers have succeeded in largely establishing the transitive-intransitive distinction between lay and lie in standard discursive prose, they have not done so well in speech. . . .
"Notwithstanding the belief of some that social judgments can be solidly based on language use, the lay-lie shibboleth may be changing its status. For instance, several commentators, such as Evans 1957, Follett 1966, and Flesch 1983, are perfectly willing to give the distinction up; Bolinger 1980 thinks it is already a lost cause not worth defending; Coperud 1970, 1980 judges the consensus of his experts to be that at least some uses of lay for lie are verging on the standard. Flesch even goes so far as to recommend using lay for lie if it comes naturally to you.
"If lay 'lie' is on the rise socially, however, it is likely to be a slow rise, as indignant letters to the editor attest. Bolinger observes sensibly that if you have invested some effort in learning the distinction, you will not want to admit that you have wasted your time. And by far the largest part of our printed evidence follows the schoolbook rules. On the other hand, evidence also shows no retreat of intransitive lay in oral use. So what should you do? The best advice seems to be Bolinger's.
"Many people use lay for lie, but certain others will judge you uncultured if you do. Decide for yourself what is best for you."
("lay, lie," Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage, Merriam-Webster, 2002) - "I don't know a lot about grammar. For example, I get mixed up on lay or lie. The other day, one of my old hens cackled, and I didn't know whether she had laid or lied."
(Loyal Jones and Billy Edd Wheeler, More Laughter in Appalachia. August House, 1995)
Practice:
(a) The cat always _____ curled up under the table.
(b) Don't shout when you _____ your cards down.
(c) Linda _____ down for a nap after yoga last night.
