Skip to content
ZWordFinderZ
Commonly confused words

Lie vs Lay in Every Tense

Lay needs an object (you lay something down); lie does not (you lie down). Learn both verbs in every tense, why "lay" is also the past of "lie", and practise with flashcards and a quiz.

  • Intermediate
  • 3 min read
  • 7-question quiz
  • 9 flashcards

By

Published

Lie and lay are probably the most confused pair of verbs in English, and for a good reason: the past tense of one is the present tense of the other. Even confident writers hesitate over I lay down versus I laid down. This lesson untangles them with one simple test and a table you can come back to.

The one-question test

Ask: Is something being placed?

  • If yes, you need lay. There will be an object, the thing being placed: Lay your phone on the desk.
  • If no, you need lie. The subject is resting on its own: I need to lie down.

Another way to remember it: lay has an A, like place, and both need an object. Lie has an I, like recline, and neither takes an object.

All the forms in one table

Verb Meaning Present Past Past participle -ing form
lie recline, rest lie / lies lay (have) lain lying
lay put down lay / lays laid (have) laid laying
lie tell an untruth lie / lies lied (have) lied lying

Read the table across, and you can see the trap: lay appears in two rows, once as the present of lay and once as the past of lie.

Lie (to recline) in action

  • Present: I lie on the floor to stretch. / The cat lies in the sun every afternoon.
  • Past: Last night I lay awake for hours. (not "laid awake")
  • Present perfect: The letter has lain unopened all week.
  • Continuous: She is lying on the sofa.

Lain sounds old-fashioned to many people, but it is still the correct past participle. If it feels stiff, rephrase: The letter has sat unopened all week.

Lay (to put down) in action

  • Present: Please lay the tiles face down. / She lays the table every evening.
  • Past: He laid his rack on the board.
  • Present perfect: The hens have laid six eggs.
  • Continuous: They are laying the foundations.

Every one of these has an object: the tiles, the table, his rack, six eggs, the foundations.

The common mistakes

Avoid Write instead Why
I'm going to lay down. I'm going to lie down. No object: you are reclining.
She laid in bed all morning. She lay in bed all morning. Past of lie is lay.
The dog was laying in the shade. The dog was lying in the shade. The dog is resting, not placing anything.
Lie the baby in the cot. Lay the baby in the cot. The baby is the object being placed.
I have laid here for an hour. I have lain here for an hour. Past participle of lie is lain.

Fixed phrases

Several common expressions use these verbs:

  • lie low (stay hidden): The suspect lay low for a week.
  • lay off (dismiss from work, or stop): The company laid off fifty workers.
  • lay out (arrange or explain): She laid out her plan.
  • lie in (stay in bed late, British): We had a lie-in on Sunday.
  • lay down the law (give firm orders)

A trick for the past tense

If you are unsure which past form you need, put the sentence into the present first:

  • Yesterday I ___ on the grass. → Present: Today I lie on the grass. So the past is lay.
  • Yesterday I ___ the blanket on the grass. → Present: Today I lay the blanket on the grass. So the past is laid.

In word games

LIE, LAY, LAIN, LAID, LYING and LAYING are all valid in Scrabble and Words With Friends. LAIN and LAID are particularly handy because they use common one-point letters and accept extra letters: SLAIN, PLAID, MISLAID and WAYLAID.

Study the forms

The flashcards cover every form of both verbs, plus the "tell an untruth" meaning. Say the answer before you flip each card.

Practice quiz

Lie and lay verb forms

Tap a card to flip it. 0 of 9 turned over.

Test yourself

0 / 7 answered

  1. 1. "I feel dizzy. I need to ___ down."
  2. 2. "___ the map on the table so we can all see it."
  3. 3. "Yesterday the dog ___ in the shade all afternoon."
  4. 4. "She ___ her tiles face down before the game."
  5. 5. "The book has ___ on the shelf for years."
  6. 6. "The children were ___ on the grass."
  7. 7. "He ___ about where he had been."
Commonly confused words

Affect vs Effect and How to Tell Them Apart

Affect is usually a verb and effect is usually a noun. Learn the RAVEN trick, the rare exceptions (effect change, a flat affect) and test yourself with a quiz.

All levels 2 min 5-question quiz

Commonly confused words

Fewer vs Less for Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Use fewer with things you can count and less with things you measure. Learn the rule, the everyday exceptions (time, money, distance) and the related pairs many/much and number/amount.

All levels 3 min 7-question quiz

Commonly confused words

When to Use Their, There and They're

Their, there and they're sound the same but mean different things. Learn what each one means, a quick test for each, and the similar pairs your/you're and whose/who's.

Beginner 2 min 5-question quiz

Sentence structure

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules and the Tricky Cases

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural one. Learn how to find the real subject, handle "each", "none" and collective nouns, then test yourself with a quiz.

Beginner to intermediate 4 min 7-question quiz