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Lie vs. Lay

You will impress your family and friends with your grammar skills if you can distinguish between lie and lay. These words confuse even the best editors, so you pretty much have to memorize a chart and then practice to build your confidence.

Lie vs. Lay Chart

Present Past Past Participle (used with helping verbs such as have)
To recline lie, lying lay has/have/had lain
To put or place lay, laying laid has/have/had laid something
To tell a falsehood lie, lying lied has/have/had lied

Example of to recline in present tense: I lie down for a nap at two o’clock every day.
Same example as above in past tense: I lay down yesterday for a nap.
Same example as above with a participle: I have lain down every day this week.

Example of to put or place something in present tense: I lay the book down.
Same example as above in past tense: I laid the book down.
Same example as above with a participle: I have laid the book down.

Example of to tell a falsehood in present tense: I am tempted to lie about my weight.
Same example as above in past tense: I lied about my weight when I renewed my driver’s license.
Same example as above with a participle: I have lied about my weight each time I have renewed my driver’s license.

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Happy Holidays!

All of us at GrammarBook.com wish all of our readers and their families a happy holiday season. We will take a two-week break before resuming our regular weekly newsletters on January 4, 2017. We sincerely hope you have learned, benefited, and enjoyed the grammar tips this year. We certainly have enjoyed bringing them to you.


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