Welcome, everyone! I am Teacher Wen Hee, an English Teacher at Lil’ but Mighty. It’s my first video post and I’m excited to get started on today’s topic (lie vs lay), so let’s get to it!
Do you often struggle with identifying between ‘lie’ and ‘lay’? Not to worry as many people tend to mix these two verbs up. However, by the end of this video, you will have a clear understanding on how to use them correctly.
Watch the video below!
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Lie
First, let us look at ‘lie.’ ‘Lie’ means to recline or to be in a horizontal position. It does not require a direct object and usually has an indication of a place. The past tense of ‘lie’ is ‘lay’ while ‘lain’ is the past participle. Please find the examples in the video.
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The couch and bed here are examples of places that one can lie down on. They indicate ‘where’ you recline.
A way you can identify places is by looking at the preposition used before the noun. As you. can see here, on the couch and in bed.
Please find the examples in the video.
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Lay
Now, let us look at ‘lay’. ‘Lay’ means to put something down and it always requires an object. ‘Laid’ is used for both the past tense and past participle forms of ‘lay’.
Please find the examples in the video.
*Book, keys and papers are the direct object in each of the sentences using ‘lay’. They indicate ‘what’ has been put down.
Please find the examples in the video.
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Lie or Lay?
The confusion normally arises when we try to use the past tense of the two verbs. Before I get to that, let’s first summarise what we know about ‘lie’ and ‘lay’ in the form of a table:
Please find the examples in the video.
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As you can see, the past tense of ‘lie’ is ‘lay’, which may lead to confusion when deciding on which past tense form to use correctly. Say you come across a sentence like this one:
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Amanda ___ (lie / lay / laid) down next to her sister and went to sleep.
You may be confused as to which option to choose! Not to worry, you can easily apply the following steps to help you:
Step 1: Check for tense. Read the sentence carefully to see if there are any clues to tell you the tense.
In this particular sentence, the verb ‘went’ tells you that the action takes place in the past,
so you can safely cancel out ‘lie’ because that is the present tense form.
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Step 2: Apply the ‘where’ or ‘what’ rule.
Here, the phrase ‘next to her sister’ tells us where Amanda was lying down. There is also
no direct object.
As such, the correct answer is ‘lay’ because it is the past tense form of the word ‘lie’ which
means to recline. ‘Laid’ is incorrect because it is the past tense of ‘lay’ which means to put
something down.
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Let us try the following questions to see if you have understood the difference between ‘lie’
and ‘lay’. When confused or in doubt, remember to apply the steps I have gone through
earlier to help you!
1. Every night, I _________ on my bed and read a book.
(1) lie
(2) lay
(3) laid
(4) lain
2. She _________ the baby down for a nap an hour ago.
(1) lie
(2) lay
(3) laid
(4) lain
3. The manager _________ the papers on my desk before she left for home.
(1) lie
(2) lay
(3) had laid
(4) had lain
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where Pa
Pa
where Pa
Let’s see how you did! Here are the answers:
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If you have identified the phrase ‘on my bed’ as a place and the present tense time marker ‘every night’, you would have selected option (1) lie as your answer should be in present tense.
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If you picked option (3) laid, which is the past tense of ‘lay’, as your answer, you are correct! Take note that ‘the baby’ should have been the clue as it is the direct object while the time marker, ‘an hour ago’, which indicates the past tense, is another clue.
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This one is a rather tricky one but if you got the correct answer, then well done! Similar to the previous question, the phrase ‘the papers’ indicates the direct object. However, the answer is option (3) because the question is also testing your knowledge of the past perfect tense! Since the act of putting the papers on the desk was the earlier of two actions in the past, the right answer is the past perfect tense ‘had laid’.
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Great job, everyone! Remember, the key difference is that ‘lie’ does not need an object and is usually coupled with a place, while ‘lay’ always does need an object and tells you ‘what’ has been put down. With practice, you’ll get the hang of it. If you have found this video helpful, don’t forget to check out our other videos for other useful tips for English!
Thanks for watching, and see you next time!