What is the difference between the verbs 'lay' and 'lie'?

Question

Both 'lay' and 'lie' seem to be utilised interchangably by English speakers, though, in truth, they both have separate meanings and usages. Can somebody explain the differences?

Answer 1

I believe the explanation is that "lay" is a transitive verb (i.e., it takes a direct object) but "lie" is an intransitive verb and takes no direct object.

Some examples:
I lay the book on the table.
I lie in bed in the mornings after the alarm goes off.
I lay the baby on the bed.

However, what's confusing is that the past tense of "lie" is "lay"! ......
......I lay in bed last night and could not fall asleep.

Yes, many people do use "lay" when they should say "lie."

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

There is the difference of transitive and intransitive. The simplest way to explain this is that one take an object and the other doesn't... ok, I am just guessing... I think to lay is the transitive and to lie the intransitive. Hmm... I am sure that you will get a better answer than this.

Answer 3

Assuming you know the respective meanings ;)
"To lay", past tense:"laid", past participle: "laid" is a transitive verb that requires an object.
Example: "I lay the flowers on my mother's grave".
Therefore it can have a passive mode "the flowers were laid..."

"To lie", past tense "lay", past participle "lain" is intransitive, and can't have a passive.
Example: " I lie down on the ground"

Answer 4

To lay is the act of one becoming or placing something down.
To lie is to be in that position.

Futhermore:

People have confused lay (“to put, place; prepare”) and lie (“to recline; be situated”) for centuries. They will probably continue to do so. Lay has been used to mean “lie” since the 1300s. Why? First, there are two lay s. One is the base form of the verb lay, and the other is the past tense of lie. Second, lay was once used with a reflexive pronoun to mean “lie” and survives in the familiar line from the child’s prayer Now I lay me down to sleep. It is not a long leap from lay me down to lay down. Third, lay down, as in She lay down on the sofa sounds the same as laid down, as in She laid down the law to the kids. 1
Here’s how to keep them straight. Lay is a transitive verb—it takes an object. Lay and its principal parts (laid, laid, laying) are correctly used in the following examples: She lays down her pen and stands up. He laid (not lay) the newspaper on the table. The table was laid for four. Lie is an intransitive verb and cannot take an object. Lie and its principal parts (lay, lain, lying) are correctly used in the following examples: She often lies (not lays) down after lunch. When I lay (not laid) down, I fell asleep. The rubbish had lain (not laid) there a week. I was lying (not laying) in bed when he called. 2
There are a few exceptions to these rules. The phrasal verb lay for and the nautical use of lay, as in lay at anchor, though intransitive, are standard. 3
It’s probably a good idea to keep the two verbs distinct in formal writing, since people will be looking for evidence of your education in your work. If you’re submitting something for publication, the copy editor will almost certainly fix your lays and lies for you. But bear in mind that lay is often an expressive way to say “lie” and has a charmed existence in certain uses. Don’t most dog owners at one time or another say Lay down! to their dogs? How many golfers play it as it lays? How many employers exhort their workers with Let’s not lay down on the job? What if Bob Dylan, in a fit of zeal for correctness, had written “Lie, Lady, Lie/Lie across my big brass bed?” Somehow it’s hard to imagine the lady sticking around.

Got it?

Answer 5

"Lie" signifies that someone or something has assumed a horizontal position, whereas "lay" means to put something down somewhere. These two sentences may help to illustrate the difference:

I lie on the bed when I go to sleep.
I lay the book on the nightstand before I go to bed.

Answer 6

active and passive

thats what it is...apart from lay being the past tense of to lie..

as in to lie.... do it yourself...
and to lay...is something we do to an object... we lay it down!!
..i know what i mean hope u do too! :)

Answer 7

Hi There

Lay is the past tence as in ' yesterday a lay down on the bed'.

Lie has two meanings, one being in present tence as in ' i am going for a lie down'. and the other meaning being to tell a lie, as in not tell the truth.

Answer 8

They mean the same thing but they are for different things. Lay requires an object and is for you putting or placing something. Lie is for you yourself to recline backwards.

I lie on the bed VS. I lay the baby down on the bed.

It's a common mistake.

Answer 9

I believe the only difference is tense...ex: "I am going the lay the baby down for a nap" "My mother is tired and went to lie down for awhile"

Answer 10

to lay down is to put something, lay the blanket down; or someone (a baby, for example) down;

to lie down means that you lie down.