Lay vs Lie
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Lay or Lie
The words ‘lay’ and ‘lie’ are both irregular verbs and in addition to this fact the only other point that they have in common is the alphabet ‘l’. That said, ‘lay’ in its present tense is used to refer to something that is being put down or placed and ‘lie’ refers to anything that many be resting, reclining or assuming a horizontal position. ‘Lie’ also refers to the act of deceiving or passing of information which is false as being the truth but since this is not the cause of confusion, it is not discussed any further.
Whether to use ‘lay’ or ‘lie’ is an aspect that is a cause of concern for users of English because very often people are confused between them and end up using the wrong word. To learn how to distinguish between them, the simplest approach is to understand their usage in present tense. As put forth by ‘Dear Abby’ – people lie and chickens lay – this sentence makes it clear that while people can rest horizontally, they lie and while chickens need to remain standing while putting down their eggs, they lay.
Basically, ‘lay’ is a transitive verb which is mandatorily followed by an object while ‘lie’ is an intransitive verb that need not be followed by a direct object. For example, in the sentence ‘Tom laid the kitten in its basket’, the direct object is kitten. Likewise, in the sentence ‘Richard’s clothes are always dirty because he lies on the ground’, the emphasis is on Richard resting or reclining on the ground while playing.
Confusion deepens as you move on to other forms of the two words wherein ‘lay’ in simple past tense becomes ‘laid’ and ‘lie’ becomes ‘lay’. In such a situation, the best way to distinguish between them entails referring to an action that was completed in the past. Once again, the past tense of ‘lay’ meaning ‘laid’ should be followed by a specific object whereas the past tense of ‘lie’ meaning ‘lay’ should be indicative of something or someone resting or reclining.
Therefore, if you feel tired at the end of the day, you may lie down yourself and lay down your books or your bag since these cannot lie.