Step 3: "Lay" used
for "Lie"
You Hear "Lay" Used when "Lie" is Correct
The next reason we have difficulty with these verbs is that many people substitute "lay" for "lie" when they talk. They say:
Incorrect: "I think I'll lay down for a nap"
when standard English would have us say (or write):
Correct: "I think I'll lie down for a nap."
It is common to hear the same error in the past tense:
Incorrect: "I laid down for a nap yesterday."
when standard English would have us say (or write):
Correct: "I lay down for a nap yesterday."
Similarly, people sometimes say
Incorrect: "I had laid there for an hour,"
when the correct form is,
Correct: "I had lain there for an hour."
Note this Carefully
In each of these errors, "lay" has been substituted for "lie."
Using "Lay" for "Lie" Causes Most Problems
Substituting forms of "lay" for forms of "lie" creates most of the common errors in using "lay" and "lie."
Learn this step and you will learn to avoid most problems.
This step is easier to learn if you combine it with learning which verb takes an object (see above)--because that is how you tell which verb is "lay" (it's the one that takes an object).
Learning Not to Use "Lay" for "Lie"
You have to train yourself to recognize that a few commonly heard (and read) expressions are incorrect.
Learn when "lay down" is incorrect and replace it with "lie down."
The same goes for the past tense: Learn when to replace "laid down" with "lay down" and "have laid down" with "have lain down."
Here's a chart showing the corrections you may need to learn to make:
| Non-standard (incorrect) | Standard (correct) |
|
I'll lay down now. He laid down for a nap yesterday. He was laying there at noon. He has laid there all afternoon. |
I'll lie down now. He lay down for a nap yesterday. He was lying there at noon. He has lain there all afternoon. |
Quick interactive drill:
Practice what you have just learned. Correct ten sentences in which forms of the verb "lay" have been incorrectly used when forms of the verb "lie" are needed.
This exercise gives ten sentences using "laid." Eight of them have incorrectly substituted forms of "lay" for forms of "lie." Find the two correct sentences.
Here's some practice learning not to substitute "lay" for "lie" (The Cat and the Shoes).
More practice learning not to substitute "lay" for "lie" (Hiking to Tenaya Lake).