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How to use these correctly: Lie lay laid ...?????

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NorthNone

Programmer
Jan 27, 2003
445
US
Does anyone have any easy-to-remember hints on using these words correctly?
Lie
Lay
Laid
???????

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The customer may not always be right, but the customer is ALWAYS the customer.
 
This from YourDictionary.com (
Middle English leien, from Old English lecgan; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Lay ("to put, place, or prepare") and lie ("to recline or be situated") have been confused for centuries; evidence exists that lay has been used to mean "lie" since the 1300s. Why? First, there are two lays. 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; lay me down is easily shortened to lay down. Third, lay down, as in She lay down on the sofa sounds the same as laid down, as in I laid down the law to the kids.·Lay and lie are most easily distinguished by usage. Lay is a transitive verb and takes a direct object. Lay and its principal parts (laid, laying) are correctly used in the following examples: 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.·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.



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TANSTAAFL!!
 
How about this for a mnemonic:

Lie as in recline pronounced recLIEne
lay as in place pronounced pLAYce
 
Thanks, AnotherHiggins! That's easy to remember :)

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The customer may not always be right, but the customer is ALWAYS the customer.
 
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