lay
- lie
‘lay’
Lay is a transitive verb, and it is also a past tense of another verb, lie.
To lay something somewhere means to put it there carefully or neatly.
Lay a sheet of newspaper on the floor.
The other forms of lay are lays, laying, laid.
Michael laid the box on the table gently.
‘I couldn’t get a taxi,' she said, laying her hand on Nick's sleeve.
‘lie’
Lie is an intransitive verb with two different meanings.
To lie somewhere means to be there in a horizontal position, or to get into that position.
She would lie on the floor, listening to music.
When lie is used like this, its other forms are lies, lying, lay, lain. The -ed participle lain is rarely used.
The baby was lying on the table.
I lay in bed listening to the rain.
To lie means to say or write something which you know is untrue. When lie is used like this, its other forms are lies, lying, lied.
Why did he lie to me?
Robert was sure that Thomas was lying.
He had lied about where he had been that night.