I Can Teach You: Lie vs. Lay

It's the second day of Pink University and our professor today is the brilliant RA. She just got a new job as a writer, so she knows what she's talking about, people. We are seriously so lucky to have such a qualified team!

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I am going to explain the difference between lie and lay.

Wait! Where are you going? Come back! I promise to be as quick and painless as possible.

The Twitchy Grammar
Lie is an intransitive verb that means "to recline" (also, "to make an untrue statement," but we aren't touching that one), and it does not require a direct object, which is something that receives the action of the verb. When someone reclines, that's all there is:

I lie on the couch.

Careful now, because couch is not the direct object; it's part of a prepositional phrase that is, as my 8th grade English teacher would say, "dead to the sentence!"

Lay is a transitive verb, so it transfers action to a necessary direct object, and it means "to place an object. "

I lay the book on the table.

Here, book is the direct object of lay. When we use lay, we have to answer the question, "Lay what?" (Or, "whom," if that helps you remember, and yes, it helps some people. Ahem.)

So, the bottom line is:

If there is a direct object, use lay. If not, use lie.

Even Trickier Tenses
Things get messier when you venture outside the present tense. Here are our sample sentences again:

I lie on the couch.
I lay the book on the table.

And now, in the past tense:

Yesterday, I lay on the couch.
Yesterday, I laid the book on the table.

Inconveniently, the past tense of lie happens to be the present tense of lay. So awesome, English Language Originators! Lest we get all jumbled up, let's remember:

Direct object = lay
No direct object = lie

The Other Bottom Line
In most circumstances, people should use lie instead of lay. We rarely use lay to express the notion of putting something down or placing an object on a spot. See? I just used two other words to say the same thing. With that in mind, here is my Rule of Thumb But Not Really a Rule:

You probably mean lie.

I'm serious. Here are a few examples from recent blog reading:

1. What would you do with extra money laying around?
2. I can't wait to lay on the beach this weekend.
3. I'm laying low until I feel better.

Neither of the first two sentences has a direct object, and the intent of the verb is "recline," so the verb should have been a form of lie. Money lies around; we lie on the beach.

The third sentence contains a common idiom that means "to overpower, kill, or defeat" and requires a direct object, like this:

In the video game, I lay my enemies low.

One cannot lay oneself low without inflicting bodily harm, which, I think, is against the intent of that sentence. Again, lie is the correct choice here.

To Recap

• If there is a direct object, use lay. If not, use lie.
• You probably mean lie.

I hope this was helpful! If you'd like more detail, Grammar Girl has a great explanation.

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Isn't she awesome? I hope I have an opportunity to show off my understanding of lie and lay on the Bar exam! Let's all practice good use of lie and lay in the comments! Go!

Comments

[Alison]

I hope everyone in America reads this, because it's one of my pet peeves. Great explanation!

[tracy]

brilliant! now if someone could please explain the difference between effect and affect, i'll be a grammatical mastermind.

[RA]

Ooh, Tracy, effect/affect can be tricky because they can both be nouns or verbs, depending on context. Check out Grammar Girl's explanation (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/affect-versus-effect.aspx) and see if that helps.

[Anna]

This was very helpful. It kind of made my head hurt but in a good way.

[Katie]

How about accept versus except. I never get that one right.

[RA]

Katie, maybe this will help for accept/except:

Accept is a verb with several common meanings (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accept).

Except is a generally a preposition (also a conjunction) that indicates an exclusion. It can also be used as a verb meaning "to exclude" or "to object," but these usages are much more rare, compared to the preposition/conjunction.

So, here is one way that might help you remember:

Accept is an action, so use it when the word in question is a verb.

Or maybe these sentences will be easier, since they reflect the most common usages:

I accept this award.
I eat everything except eggs.

[Coach Bags Outlet]

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In ball park terms, the upstream damage, the ‘eco-baggage’ that my panels arrived with from day one, amounts to some 1000kg of greenhouse gas equivalent impact. They will pay that back in full within two years. They will sweep up all their own eco-mess, their footprint in manufacture etc, during the first two years of operation. Thereafter, for the next 20 years or more, they will be sweeping up other people’s polluasdftion – and fully be in (planetary) credit, increasingly so, for each year they keep on keeping on.