“Lay” vs. “Lie”

Lay is commonly used as a verb that means “to place something down flat,” and requires an object.

Lie has a few definitions, and one of them is “to be in a flat position on a surface.” In this sense, lie does not require an object.

Conjugating these verbs in other tenses is especially challenging. For example, the past tense of lie is lay.

Understanding “Lay” and “Lie”

After a long day of work, all you want to do is go home and… lay down or lie down?

The answer is lie down.

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to using the verbs lay and lie correctly. One of the most notable differences you should be aware of is that lay is a transitive verb, meaning it requires an object that receives the action. Without the object, the sentence would not make sense (grammatically speaking). Just to refresh your memory, an object is a noun that receives the action of a verb.

While lay needs an object (the sheet) to receive the action (lay), the verb lie is an intransitive verb and therefore doesn’t require an object to receive/realize the action.

Yes, learning the difference between lay and lie can be a challenge, especially if you go beyond using them in the present tense. Below, we’re going to explain how to use lay and lie correctly in various tenses.

How To Use “Lay” Correctly

Lay is pronounced similarly to say and can function as a verb that means “to put something down flat.”

Lay is in the present tense form. But what about the other tenses? The past tense and past participle of lay is laid.

The progressive form of lay is laying.

Things get a little trickier when trying to understand that past tense of lie. We’ll explain below.

How To Use “Lie” Correctly

Lie has similar pronunciation to the “line” in recline (which can help you remember what it means) and also has a few different definitions. As a verb, lie can mean “to be or put yourself in a flat position on a surface.”

These examples are all in the present tense. It’s a little more confusing when you conjugate lie to past tense, or when you use the past participle. The past tense of lie is lay, whereas the past participle is lain.

However, lie can also be used as a noun that means “untruth” or a verb that means “to tell an intentionally false statement.” When used as a verb, the past tense and past participle of lie is lied.

The progressive form of both versions of the verb lie is lying.

Now You Know How To Use “Lay” and “Lie”

Yes, that was a lot to follow. Here are the key points that’ll help you remember the difference between lay and lie.

• Lay is a transitive verb and therefore requires an object, and means “to place something down in a flat position.”
• The past tense and past participle of lay are laid.
• Lie does not require an object, and it means “to be in a flat position on a surface” (recline). The past tense and past participle of this lie are lay and lain.
• Lie can also be used as a verb that means “to tell an untruth.” The past tense and past participle of this version are lied.