The Lie-Lay Confusion Explained

The Lie-Lay Confusion Explained Lay and lie are two words often interchanged mistakenly in business grammar. Lay means â€Å"to place.† Lie, as a verb, means â€Å"to recline or tell an untruth.† (Lie, as a noun, means a falsehood.) Lie, as a noun is generally clear, but the verb lie and the verb lay can be confusing. Lay (principal parts: lay, laid, laying) means â€Å"to put† or â€Å"to place† and needs an object to complete its meaning: * Please lay the brochures carefully on the desk. * I laid the two other notes there yesterday. * The sales manager is always laying the blame on his staff when sales drop. Lie (principal parts: lie, lay, lain, lying) means â€Å"recline or rest, or stay.† It can refer to either a person or thing as assuming or being in a reclining position. The verb â€Å"lie† cannot take an object: * Now he lies in bed most of the day, sulking about the lost sale. * The opportunities lay before us. * This RFP has lain unanswered for days. * Today’s mail is lying on the receptionist’s desk. Here is an easy tip to check your use of these verbs: substitute the word â€Å"place, placed, or placing (depending on grammar structure.) If the substitute fits, lay is correct. If not, use lie. Remember: Lay = place. To test this: *I will (lie or lay) down now. You would not write, â€Å"I will place down now.† So, this tells you readily that lay is correct in this sentence: â€Å"I will lay down now.† * I (laid or lay) the pad on his desk. â€Å"I placed the pad on his desk† makes sense, so, lay is correct in this sentence: â€Å"I laid the pad on the desk.† (past tense) * These files have (laid or lain) untouched for days. You would not write, â€Å"These files have placed untouched for days† so lie is correct: â€Å"These files have lain untouched.† Correct YourBusiness GrammarChallenges in this webinar.