Word Pairs: Lay or Lie

Word pairs often seem like they were designed to confuse writers.

One of the most common grammatical mistakes is the practice of unwittingly using lay or lie incorrectly. This error is so common, it even slips past professional writers, editors, and English teachers — all the time.

Maybe eventually these two words will morph into one and have the exact same meaning, but until then, it’s worthwhile to learn proper usage. But for now, their meanings are completely different.

Let’s take a look at this interesting word pair and find out whether we should be using lay or lie based on each word’s definition.

Lay

Dictionary.com lists 42 different definitions for the word lay. Of these, 28 are categorized as a verb used with an object, eight as verbs used without an object, and six are simply nouns. Plus, there are 15 verb phrases that use the word lay, as well as nine idioms. This is a word that can be used in a lot of different ways!

Let’s keep things simple by focusing on what differentiates lay from lie.

In short, lay is something you do to something else. You might think that sounds funny, especially considering idiom number 58 (get laid), but it’s true and of course “getting laid” is exactly what you should use to remember that you lay something (down).

Lie

Lie only has 27 definitions, so that’s a relief. Though, that’s not taking into consideration the nine additional definitions that deal with falsehoods.

Again, we’ll keep it simple. Just remember that you should use the word lie when there is no object involved.

Lay or Lie

Here are some tips to help you remember whether to use lay or lie in a sentence:

Every sentence has a subject and a verb. An example would be:

I write.

“I” is the subject, and “write” is the verb. Many sentences also have an object:

I write blogs.

In this example, “blogs” is the object. The object in a sentence receives the action of the verb. The subject is taking or making that action.

Subject: I (does the action)

Action: write (the action)

Object: blogs (receives the action – i.e. gets written)

Learning Word Pairs is Easy!

The word lay should be used when there is an object receiving the action, i.e. something or someone is getting laid (down) by something or someone else.

• I always lay my pencil down by the phone.
• I laid the book on that chair.
• I am laying down the law.

Conversely, the word lie is used when there is no object involved, i.e. the subject of the sentence is doing the lying.

• I lie down every afternoon.
• The kitten lies there, dozing.
• The dog is lying down.

That was easy!

Do you have any tips for remembering whether a sentence calls for lay or lie? Are there any word pairs that confuse you? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.