Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we’re going to talk about a topic that has plagued me for a long time. That’s right; we’re going to talk about lay versus lie.
“To lie” means “to recline.” “Lie” is the present tense – I lie on the bed right now – and “lay” is the past tense – I lay on the bed last night.
“To lay” is a completely different verb that means “to put down.” It’s confusing, because its present tense is the same as the past tense of “to lie.” That’s … weird, but hey, what did you expect from English grammar? Here are some examples to simplify things.
Today, I lie on the sofa. Yesterday, I lay on the sofa for three hours.
When I come home from school, I lay my backpack on the sofa. Yesterday, I laid my backpack in the living room.
Pro tip: “Laid” is never a conjugation of “to lie.”
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