Lie / Lay
lie — lay
Who is lying down – the subject or the object?
Lie vs. Lay
| LIE | LAY |
|---|---|
Use lie or lie down for an action that a person or animal does by oneself. Lie is an intransitive verb – it does not take an object. |
Use lay or lay down for an action that a person does to someone or something else. Lay is a transitive verb – it requires an object. |
The baby is lying on the couch. |
I am laying the baby down for a nap. |
She lies down for a nap on the couch everyday. |
|
You should lie down a little while longer. |
I will lay the plans out for you. |
PAST TENSE I lay down on the couch to get rid of my headache last night. (past tense) |
PAST TENSE I laid the book on the table a minute ago. (past tense) |
I have lain here for an hour waiting for my headache to go away. (past perfect) |
I have just laid her down for a nap. (past perfect) |
Related page: Intransitive verbs
LIE Additional Uses
| EXPRESSIONS | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
*BE LOCATED (v.) |
The new church lies north of town. (present tense) The old church lay to the south. (past tense) |
*TO HAVE DIRECTION (v.) |
The mountains lie to the east. (present tense) |
*REMAIN (v.) |
The ship lay in anchor in the harbor. (past tense) |
*EXIST (v.) |
The choice lay between hiking east or sailing west. (past tense) |
BE LAZY (v.) |
After only a couple of hours, he lay down on the job. (past tense) |
HIDE (v.) |
The pirates lay low until they could escape without anyone seeing them. (past tense) |
TAKE WITHOUT PROTEST (v.) |
He won't take that lying down. He will surely fight back. |
LIE - (homonym)
| EXPRESSIONS | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
LIE (v.) (to fib) |
He lies to his friends. He is lying now. He lied to you then and has lied to you many times. He's a liar. |
A WHITE LIE |
She told a white lie to save her friend from feeling hurt. She said, "Nice dress." (a lie with good intentions) |
LIE THROUGH ONE'S TEETH |
He was lying through his teeth when he said he was a doctor. He hadn't even finished high school. (to lie openly) |
BALD (BARE) FACED LIE |
The politician denied having said it. That was a bald-faced lie. (a shameless lie) |
LAY Additional Expressions
| PHRASAL VERB EXPRESSIONS | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
BE ILL AT HOME (v.) |
He was laid up for two months before he could get back to work. (passive voice) |
PUT AWAY (v.) |
If they lay aside their differences, they can talk peace. |
PLACE ASIDE FOR SAVING (v.) |
She lays away part of her pay check each month. |
A PURCHASING PLAN (n.) |
We put the new washing machine on lay-away until we have enough money. |
STOP FIGHTING (v.) |
The generals laid down their weapons. (past tense) |
STORE (v.) |
Farmers lay in grain for the winter. |
DISMISS FROM EMPLOYMENT (v.) |
I was laid off during the recession. (passive voice) |
ARRANGE (v.) |
We laid out the table with our finest dishware. (informal speech- past tense) |
SPEND (v.) |
He laid out $250 for a new suit. (informal speech- past tense) |
EXPRESSIONS |
|
BURY (v.) |
They laid him to rest on Sunday. (past tense) |
PUT AWAY (v.) |
Lay to rest any thoughts of danger. We have fixed the problem. |
MAKE IT EASIER FOR (v.) |
The legislation laid the foundation for more law suits. (made it easier for) |
PLACE RESPONSIBILITY (v.) |
They laid the blame on us. (past tense) |
NATURE OR CONDITION (n.) |
The lay of the land here is hilly. |
PUT RULES IN PLACE (v.) |
He walked into the room and laid down the law. (informal speech- past tense) |
SEE (v.) |
I haven't laid eyes on him for over a month. (informal speech- past tense) |
FAIL BADLY (v.) |
The movie was terrible. The producers laid an egg. (informal speech- past tense) |
FLATTER, COMPLIMENT TOO MUCH (v.) |
He was laying it on thick telling me he couldn't live without me. |
STATE CLEARLY (v.) |
The officer laid it on the line and told me not to drive over 65 m.p.h. (informal speech- past tense) |
STOPPED (v.) |
We laid over for one hour in Los Angeles before continuing to San Francisco. |
GET, ACQUIRE (v.) |
I'll buy an autographed baseball if I can lay my hands on one. (informal speech- past tense) |
SPEAK OPENLY AND HONESTLY (v.) |
He needs to lay his cards on the table and tell us why he is really here. |
DECLARE RIGHTS TO PROPERTY (v.) |
The pioneers laid claim to the lands they found. (past tense) |
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
*Laid-off workers lay the blame on management. "We're not going to take this laying down!" |
Laid-off workers lay the blame on management. "We're not going to take this lying down!" |
*I laid down for a rest. |
I lay down for a rest. (lie – past tense) |
*Lay down! |
You lie down. (lie – past tense) |
*She has laid in her bed all day. |
She has lain in her bed all day. (lie – past perfect) |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Pop-Q- "Lie-lay"
Practice
Choose "lie" or "lay" to complete the sentence.
- After completing all the responses, click the "show answers" button at the bottom.
- Feedback your responses to the correct answers.
Practice 2
Choose "lie" or "lay" to complete the sentence.
- After completing all the responses, click the "show answers" button at the bottom.
- Feedback your responses to the correct answers.