Slice of Pink

Exclamation Point

I've been sending a number of professional emails lately for various reasons and I have been desperately trying to curb my propensity to end every single sentence in an exclamation point. I guess I want to make sure that my enthusiasm shines through, that the reader is aware of my energy for life, but, you know, exclamation points aren't always appropriate.

While writing an email last night, I mentioned to Will that I was editing my punctuation from the invigorating exclamation point to the ordinary little period. I expressed a little unhappiness at having to suspend my use of the exclamation point in order to be professional. Will responded, "how about this? For every exclamation point you get rid of in an email, you can use that exclamation point on your blog?"

Isn't that a great idea, y'all!?!?!? Slice of Pink!!! About to get a little more exclamatory!!! Hurrah!!! Three exclamation points per sentence, because they are all suppressed and unvented!!!

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!

♥ ♥ ♥

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.

♥ ♥ ♥

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!

Instrutions Included

High end hotel sign making job available. Spelling skillz not required.

Summertime

After two graduations and grad night at Disneyland and a very long day at work following the all-nighter at Disneyland, summer has officially arrived, thank god. Last summer, I stayed in my pajamas all summer long and did not do the laundry or complete any important tasks for the most part. But this summer is going to be different! I have goals this summer! I have ambition!

Firstly, I am going to make some money this summer by teaching a photo enrichment class. This should excuse me from sole responsibility for washing the clothes, which is a totally lame job, one that I will never again position myself to be in sole charge of. I would rather work at a job than be wholly responsible for laundry. That's right.

Secondly, I am going to read all the books that I borrowed from fellow book club members in the past year, all the books on the sidebar over there, and possibly Confederacy of Dunces which Will has been telling me I should read since the summer of 2002.

Thirdly, I am going to spend a significant amount of time studying for the September LSAT.

Fourthly, I am going to stop spending so much money on stupid crap.

That's not even the start of my list, but I just finished three glasses of wine and I couldn't quite remember if fourthly was grammatically correct or not. My Oxford American Dictionary Widget says yes, it is a word, which I thought so, but for how long can it possibly go on? Tenthly? Eleventhly? Thirtythly? Because I have a big list of goals, people. Many more than four, many more than ten. But, between finishing this list and having another glass of wine, I'm gonna have to go with the wine and figure out this ending in -ly numbering system tomorrow.

Hurray for summer!

How Do it Know?

You don't need a college degree to work at Trader Joe's. Or a high school diploma for that matter.