What I learned from some school-kid was “To LIE is to recLIne, to LAY is to pLAce”, with exaggerated stress on the rhyming vowels.
What confuses folks is that the past tense and participle of LIE are LAY and LAIN, while for LAY they’re both LAID. Got that?
(Germans have a similar problem with “liegen” and “legen”. I blame Germanic forefather Hagar the Horrible. Yes, English is not simple, but try studying a language with grammatical gender and four, five, or six cases. German, for ex., has six words for “the”! We still have it easier.)
I’m only a Plugger some of the time … but I love my dog all of the time! She’s more than welcome to lay on anything she wants, anytime she wants, any time of the year.
Not that it’ll help, but the verb “lie” is intransitive (has no object), and the verb “lay” is transitive (must have an object).
Thus, “Lie down beside me”, or “Lay your head upon my shoulder”. A dog LIES on something, and a hen LAYS eggs.
Nighthawks Premium Member over 13 years ago
a bear and his dog
jackdohany over 13 years ago
A hen LAYS eggs.
A dog LIES on a bed.
And yes, a husband LIES to his wife, and vice-versa.
English: it’s a tough language to learn.
ponytail56 over 13 years ago
the most confounding , duplicitus , confusing, subtle , nuanced , descriptive language ever conceived
pschearer Premium Member over 13 years ago
What I learned from some school-kid was “To LIE is to recLIne, to LAY is to pLAce”, with exaggerated stress on the rhyming vowels.
What confuses folks is that the past tense and participle of LIE are LAY and LAIN, while for LAY they’re both LAID. Got that?
(Germans have a similar problem with “liegen” and “legen”. I blame Germanic forefather Hagar the Horrible. Yes, English is not simple, but try studying a language with grammatical gender and four, five, or six cases. German, for ex., has six words for “the”! We still have it easier.)
wanderwolf over 13 years ago
Gweedo: Don’t be so shy; tell us how you really feel about fat people. 9.9
Gretchen's Mom over 13 years ago
I’m only a Plugger some of the time … but I love my dog all of the time! She’s more than welcome to lay on anything she wants, anytime she wants, any time of the year.
jackdohany over 13 years ago
Not that it’ll help, but the verb “lie” is intransitive (has no object), and the verb “lay” is transitive (must have an object). Thus, “Lie down beside me”, or “Lay your head upon my shoulder”. A dog LIES on something, and a hen LAYS eggs.
anserman38 over 13 years ago
Who cares about language usage - dogs are great bedwarmers