lay, lie

lay, lie
Lay means "to place" and is a transitive verb requiring an object. Lie, in the context here, means "to recline," is intransitive, and takes no object."I shall lay the rug on the floor." "Please lie down here." The principal parts of lay are lay, laid, laid, laying; the principal parts of lie are lie, lay, lain, lying. Among hackneyed expressions employing lay and lie may be cited "lay down the law," "lay of the land," "lay oneself open," "lay by the heels," "lay down one's life," "lay heads together," "lay one's cards on the table," "lay a course," "lay about one," "lay for," "lay it on with a trowel (or shovel)," "lay it on thick," "lie down on the job," "lie low," "take lying down," "lie in wait," and "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." See also laid.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • lay - lie — ◊ lay Lay is a transitive verb, and it is also a past tense of another verb, lie. To lay something somewhere means to put it there carefully. Take the top sheet and lay it in the centre of the bed. The other forms of lay are lays, laying, laid …   Useful english dictionary

  • lay / lie —    Lay is a transitive verb, which means it takes an object. It means to set or put down flat : Gwendolyn laid child in the crib, or Lay a book on the table, please. Its forms are lay, lays, laid, has laid, and is laying.    Lie is an… …   Confused words

  • lay / lie —    Lay is a transitive verb, which means it takes an object. It means to set or put down flat : Gwendolyn laid child in the crib, or Lay a book on the table, please. Its forms are lay, lays, laid, has laid, and is laying.    Lie is an… …   Confused words

  • lay, lie —     Laying on his back, Dalton used a long exposure of two seconds so as to achieve maximum depth of field (Photography magazine). Unless Dalton was producing eggs, he was lying on his back. Lay and lie, in all their manifestations, are a… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • lay, lie —     Laying on his back, Dalton used a long exposure of two seconds so as to achieve maximum depth of field (Photography magazine). Unless Dalton was producing eggs, he was lying on his back. Lay and lie, in all their manifestations, are a… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • lie — lay, lie These two words cause confusion even to native speakers of English because their meanings are related and their forms overlap. Lay is a transitive verb, i.e. it takes an object, and means ‘to place on a surface, to cause to rest on… …   Modern English usage

  • lay — lay, lie These two words cause confusion even to native speakers of English because their meanings are related and their forms overlap. Lay is a transitive verb, i.e. it takes an object, and means ‘to place on a surface, to cause to rest on… …   Modern English usage

  • lay —  , lie  Lay and lie, in all their manifestations, are a constant source of errors. There are no simple rules for dealing with them. You must either commit their various forms to memory or avoid them altogether. The forms are as follows:  lay lie… …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • lay — lay1 W2S1 [leı] v the past tense of ↑lie 1 lay 2 lay2 v past tense and past participle laid [leıd] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(put somebody/something down)¦ 2 lay bricks/carpet/concrete/cables etc 3¦(bird/insect etc)¦ 4¦(table)¦ 5 lay the foundations/ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • lay — I [[t]leɪ[/t]] v. laid, lay•ing, n. 1) to put or place in a horizontal position or position of rest; set down: to lay a book on a desk[/ex] 2) to knock or beat down, as from an erect position; strike or throw to the ground: One punch laid him… …   From formal English to slang

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