I recently posted a poll which indicated several of my watchers, and possibly writers outside my circle, are confused about using “lay”, “lie”, “lay”, “lain” and “laid”. Don’t feel bad — it confuses a lot of people. You’re not alone.

So, in keeping with Back to Basics month, let’s try to clear it up.

Resources

If you’re a podcasting kind of person, check out Grammar Girl; she covered this topic at some point, and I’ll be using her transcript as my primary information source. Her “quick and dirty tricks” are so cool. But to be fair, this site helped a TON too. And there were other sources as well; just Google “lie vs. lay” and you’ll find them.

Okay, so what’s the problem with “lay” and “lie”?

First, let’s look at present tense. This is the easy one.

Definition

A quick definition from Merriam-Webster Online:

1 a: to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position : be prostrate : rest, recline <lie motionless> <lie asleep>
b: to assume a horizontal position —often used with down
c (archaic): to reside temporarily : stay for the night : lodge.

Got that? Being in repose, resting, being still and motionless, etc. This is something you do to YOURSELF, not something you do to something (or someone) ELSE.

Let's take a look at the easy part first -- the present tense.

Present Tense

Examples

“I need to go lie down for a while.” This is correct.
“I need to go lay down for a while.” This is INcorrect.

So, you lie (yourself, your own person or anything attached to you) down.

Now, if you’re putting something ELSE into a resting or reclined position, it’s “lay”. You don’t LIE the book down, you LAY the book down. It’s something you do to something OTHER than you, or something disconnected from you.

“Just lay that ol’ thing down anywhere.” Correct.
“I’m going to lay on the couch to watch TV.” Incorrect.

See? Does that make sense?

Of course, this excludes the meaning of “lie” as telling an untruth. So let’s leave that one out.

There’s an easy, cheesy way to remember this. For those of you who never saw the decade of the 70s, you’re in for a treat. For those of you who did, remember the expression “lay it on me, baby”? Well, it’s grammatically correct. It’s something YOU put on ME, so you “lay it on me”. Isn’t that goofy? But it’s accurate.

Summing up: If it’s something you’re doing to YOURSELF (resting, reclining, reposing, making horizontal, etc.), it’s “lie” (present-tense). If you’re doing it to something or someone else, it’s “lay”. And keep your minds out of the gutter during the discussion, willya??

Now let’s get to the ugly part—the PAST tense.

Past Tense

This all becomes just a little more … um … well, let’s use the word
interesting … by making “lay” the past tense of “lie”.

So, now…if it’s something you’re doing to yourself, it’s “lie”, and if it’s something you do to something or someone else it’s “lay”, unless it’s past tense, then it’s “lay” for something you do to yourself. Are you lost yet?

“I LAY down for an hour or so earlier.” Correct ... believe it or not.
“I LAID down for an hour or so earlier.” Incorrect ... popular usage notwithstanding.

And, now that you’re thoroughly confused if you weren’t before, what about “laid”?

“Laid” is the past tense of the base form “lay”. When “lay” is the present tense—meaning it’s something you do to something or someone else—you use “laid” in the past tense. (Yeah, I can hear you snickering like high school kids; one last warning about minds in the gutter!)

“I LAID the book on the table before ... where is it now?” Correct.
“I LAID around the house all weekend.” Incorrect.

*Sigh*

I know, I know. And no, there’s no easy way to help you remember this, either. So let me lay it out for you again (see?? see???):

• If you do it to yourself or stuff attached to you: “Lie” (present), “Lay” (past).


• If you do it to something (or someone) else: “Lay” (present), “Laid” (past).

Okay, does that help? I sure hope so.

But even if it doesn’t, don’t feel bad. This is very HARD TO REMEMBER, and comes with repetition and practice. Or rote memorization, whichever you prefer.

Past Participle Forms

The present participle forms are “lying” for “lie” and “laying” for “lay”.

So then ... what’s up with “lain”?

Okay, “lain” is the past participle of the “lie” base term. That is, when you use the past tense of the past tense, you use “lain” for “lie”. The past participle of the “lay” base form remains “laid” (thank goodness!).

Here’s an example:

“Susie has LAIN on the couch for two days now.” Correct.
“You have LAIN my fears to rest.” Incorrect.

Here’s another way to think about it, which requires you to decide which use makes MORE or LESS sense:

• If a form of "placed" makes more sense, use lay/laid/laid.


• If a form of "rested" makes more sense, use lie/lay/lain.

So, ask yourself which makes more sense, rested, or placed? Is it disconnected to the person doing it, or connected?

“I LAID my head on the pillow.” Right, or wrong? Let’s test.
This is analogous to: “I placed my head on the pillow.” Uh ... yuck. No.

Why? Because that suggests my head is separate from me, and is something I can place on a horizontal surface disconnected from the rest of me being prone. But it’s not. (Really. Seriously. It’s not.) So, I couldn’t have LAID my head on the pillow, I must’ve LAIN my head on the pillow. That is, I rested my head on the pillow. That’d be analogous to: “I rested my head on the pillow.”
Glad that’s cleared up; I always try to keep my head. Heh.

So, if it’s something I did to myself and is the past participle, it’s “lain” instead of “lay”/”laid”. If it’s something I did to something else in the past participle form, then it stays “laid”.

“Bruce Wayne has laid flowers on the site of his parents’ murder every year since their deaths.”

“I had lain on the couch for days.”

Remember, if it makes more sense to use RESTED, then use “lain” as the past participle. If it makes more sense to use PLACED, then use “laid”.

(It should be noted here, though, that "laid" as a past participle form for the base form "lie" has become an accepted practice. Doesn't that make everything more clear?? )

Or just use rest/rested and place/placed and avoid the whole messy business. Your choice.

Well, that’s it for this time; I hope this helped, and I’ll see you again next time.