There’s no time to lie down on the job when you have to guard against misusing the words “lay” and “lie.” Lay is a verb meaning “to set down” or “to place.” It takes a direct object. You will lay the report on the pastor’s desk. Your director lays a stack of files in your inbox. The intern mistakenly laid her timecard on the to-be-shredded pile.
To lie is to recline (or tell a falsehood). “Lie” never takes an object. I lie down. She lies on the beach. We don’t lay ourselves down—except in the past tense. The past tense of telling a falsehood is “lied.” The past tense of reclining is “lay.” It would be wrong to say, Yesterday I lied on the couch, unless you’re admitting to telling a whopper. The correct statement is, Yesterday I lay on the couch. I’m going to lie there again.
Chickens lay eggs. People don’t. May your fears be laid to rest as you file this tip away!
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