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lie ~ lie ~ lay

[The first ‘lie’ and the second ‘lie’ have the same pronunciation, and ‘lay’, of course, has a different sound.]

“Lie” (verb) —  lie – lay – lain – lying as its inflections, is ‘to be or to put oneself in a flat resting position on a surface such as ground, floor or bed; to remain in a flat position on something flat; to be in a described direction, position or place; to remain used, neglected, etc.’,

e.g.

Don’t lie in bed till late in the morning.

After doing some garden work, the old man lies back in an arm chair.

The magnificent palace lies to the east of the lake.   [i.e. the palace is situated in the east of the lake]

He lay there on the floor for hours.  (‘lay’ the past tense form of the verb ‘lie’)

The refugees are lying on the ground waiting for help.

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“Lie”, as a verb —  lie – lied – lied – lying as its forms, is ‘to tell something untrue on purpose; to tell something that is false deliberately (i.e. in order to escape punishment or to cheat others)’; and as a noun, it is ‘an untrue statement; something that is false’,

e.g.

She lied to us about her age.   [i.e. when she was 30 years of age, she told us she was 25 or 35 or so, which was not correct]

Don’t tell lies to your mother; tell her the truth.

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“Lay”, as a verb,

(a)

is the past tense form of the verb word ‘lie’ meaning ‘to put oneself in a flat position’ (please, go to the first item of this entry);

(b)

with  lay – laid – laid – laying as its inflections, is ‘to keep or put something in a particular position or at a particular place; (of birds, insects) to give or produce eggs; to cover something’;

as an adjective, it means ‘(of a person) not trained or not knowing much about a particular profession, issue or subject’;

[<<< to 'lay' in People & Profession]

as a noun, it means ‘the position of an area of land; the position of something and where each part of it is; (of a person) to be a good, easy or quick person to have sex with; (literary) a song or an emotional poem’,

e.g.

He lay there dozing all afternoon.  (the past tense of ‘lie’)

She lays her hand on my shoulder when we go out for a walk.  (to keep or put her hand… present tense form of ‘lay’)

He laid the bundle of sticks on the floor and mopped his face with a dirty rag. (the past tense of ‘lay’)

Birds lay eggs.

A hen lays an egg a day.

The brick-layer was laying the bricks neatly.

Scientists often find it difficult to explain the scientific facts in a layman’s language. (in a simple language)

Before starting any huge construction project, engineers must see and study the lay of the land thoroughly.  (the position of the land…)

[The expression ‘the land lies…’ is ‘where it is situated; and ‘the lay of the land…’ is ‘how it is places, i.e. slopes, elevation, the access, etc.’.]

Common Errors:

1.

The teacher was sure the little boy was saying lies.  [wrong]

The teacher was sure the little boy was telling lies.  [right]

2.

The dog is laying on the floor.  [wrong]

The dog is lying on the floor.    [right]

3.

It’s my sister who usually lies the table for dinner.   [wrong]

It’s my sister who usually lays the table for dinner.  [right]

{To see how common errors in this context are made, please, go to “pound ~ pound” in which the presenter in the second video ‘pounding chicken breast’ says, probably a slip of the tongue, ‘lie’ instead of ‘lay’!}

4.

She lay her hand on his shoulder.    [wrong]

She laid her hand on his shoulder.   [right]

OR

She lays her hand on his shoulder.  [right]

5.

He lied under the beach umbrella and dozed off.   [wrong]

He lay under the beach umbrella and dozed off.    [right]

{Note: ‘He lied under the beach umbrella …’ is wrong; however, “He lied under oath.” is an accepted expression because it means ‘He told lies though he swore that he would tell the truth (it is almost like making a promise to tell the truth, usually in a court of law, but telling lies).}

[Return to "bricklayer" in People & Professions.]

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