There is a frequently occurring error that this post aims to rectify: the ongoing confusion between the verb ‘to lay’ and the verb ‘to lie’. These are two distinct verbs and are not interchangeable. One of these verbs is transitive and the other is intransitive. Read on to discover the different types of verbs in English grammar, and most importantly, what the difference is between the verb ‘to lay’ and the verb ‘to lie’.
The source of the confusion
One source of the confusion of these two particular verbs lies in the fact that they share a common form. The root form of the verb ‘to lay’ is the same as the preterite form (simple past tense form) of the verb ‘to lie’.
The following example provides a short explanation of what these forms are and how they are used in grammar.
- Give = Root form of a verb used for the present tense. For example, “I give you my best”.
- Gave = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense. For example, “I gave her my keys”.
- Given = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses. For example, “I have given her a gift”.
Further examples are,
- Eat – Ate – Eaten
- Shake – Shook – Shaken
- Sink – Sank – Sunk
- Take – Took – Taken
Now let’s look at the verbs in question:
To Lay
Definition: to put something in a flat or horizontal position.
- Lay = Root form of a verb used for the present tense
- Laid = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense
- Laid = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
To Lie
Definition: to be in or to move into a horizontal position on a surface.
- Lie = Root form of a verb used for the present tense
- Lay = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense
- Lain = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
Notice that the preterite form of the verb ‘to lie’ is ‘lay’. The same as the root form of the verb ‘to lay’. Now, we know why confusion occurs: because there is some overlap of similarity between the form of these words, but also there is a clear overlap in their definitions.
There is also another use of the verb ‘to lie’, which has different preterite and participle forms and is not usually confused:
To Lie
Definition: to say or write something that is not true.
- Lie = Root form of a verb used for the present tense
- Lied = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense
- Lied = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
This post will go on to clarify how to use each of these verbs individually, but first, here is a brief clarification of the different types of verb in English grammar.
Types of verb in English grammar
There are a number of different types of verbs in English and additional confusion has arisen because ‘lay’ and ‘lie’ are different types of verb. Some verbs are either transitive or intransitive, but some verbs can appear as both, just as an intransitive verb can appear as a linking verb, and similarly some verbs can be stative or dynamic, etc. However, the verb ‘to lay’ is transitive and the verb ‘to lie’ is intransitive.
The following are the most common types of verb in English grammar.
Transitive verbs
Transitive verbs carry a direct object to complete their meaning. They transfer the action of the verb to the object:
- She ate (transitive verb) the cake (direct object).
- He laid (transitive verb) the cutlery (direct object) on the table (indirect object).
Intransitive verbs
Intransitive verbs do not require a direct object to complete their meaning, they can stand alone in a sentence or appear in a sentence without a direct object to give them meaning:
- She ate (intransitive verb).
- She ate (intransitive verb) at a restaurant (prepositional phrase).
- He slept (intransitive verb).
- He slept (intransitive verb) all night (adverbial phrase).
- She lay (intransitive verb) on the bed (prepositional phrase).
Linking verbs
Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, often an adjective or a noun, that describes or renames the subject:
- She seems (linking verb) happy (subject complement).
- The cake smells (linking verb) delicious (subject complement).
Auxiliary or modal verbs
An auxiliary verb, also known as a ‘modal verb’ or a ‘helping verb’, works together with a main verb in a sentence to express various meanings such as ability, necessity, permission, etc.:
- She can (auxiliary/modal verb) sing (main verb).
- They will (auxiliary/modal verb) arrive (main verb).
For a more in depth look at modal verbs, please see the relevant post.
Regular and irregular verbs
Verbs can be classified as regular or irregular, literally based on whether the manner in which they form their past tense and past participle forms is regular or somewhat irregular according to the norm:
- Regular verb = I walk (present tense) I walked, I have walked (preterite and past participle).
- Regular verb = I look (present tense) I looked, I have looked (preterite and past participle).
- Irregular verb = I go (present tense) I went (preterite) I have gone (past participle).
- Irregular verb = I am (present tense) I was (preterite) I have been (past participle).
For more detail on these, please visit this article.
Phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs are formed by combining a main verb with one or more particles (usually prepositions or adverbs). They often but not always have idiomatic meanings:
The following are some examples of common phrasal verbs that collocate with the word ‘along’.
- Get along = enjoy the company/personality of another person
- Tag along = accompany someone
- Play along = pretend
Notice that the expression ‘get along’ has little to do with the literal meaning of the verb ‘to get’, and likewise the expression to ‘play along’ does not use the verb ‘to play’ in its literal sense.
Stative verbs
Stative verbs express a state or condition rather than an action as is traditionally associated with verbs; verbs are often somewhat misleadingly called ‘doing’ words when taught at primary school. A stative verb expresses the state of having or being something, and this could be a mental state, an emotion, possession or similar concepts. Stative verbs are not used in the continuous (progressive) tense:
- He knows (stative verb) the answer.
- They own (stative verb) a house.
To learn about the English tenses, please visit this post.
Dynamic verbs
In contrast to the stative verbs described above, dynamic verbs are indeed those verbs that describe actions or processes. These verbs are often used in the continuous tense:
- She is talking (dynamic verb) to her teacher.
- He is walking (dynamic verb) through the park.
- They are laughing (dynamic verb) at the joke.
To lay and to lie
Now, let’s take a closer look at transitive
and intransitive verbs in relation to the two verbs in question in this post, ‘to lay’ and ‘to lie’. Although some verbs are either transitive or intransitive, that is not the case with these two verbs.
Here are some examples of the verb ‘to lay’ in use in its three forms as detailed at the start of this post.
- Lay
= Root form of a verb used for the present tense - Laid
= Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense - Laid
= Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
- Lay the small fork to the left of the large one.
- The chicken laid an egg.
- The builders have laid the foundations of the house.
Clearly ‘lay’ is a transitive verb. In each of its occurrences, it is used transitively. The verb ‘to lay’ requires a direct object to complete the meaning of the action. A direct object is always a noun (an object, person, place or concept), as can be seen in the three examples underlined above.
It would be impossible to make these examples intransitive. One could not write ‘The chicken laid’ or ‘The builders have laid’ as a complete sentence; there is an absence of meaning and the sentence is incomplete.
The verb ‘to lie’ is intransitive; it does not require a direct object and can stand alone to describe an action or stand completely alone:
- Lie = Root form of a verb used for the present tense
- Lay = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense
- Lain = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
- I’m going to lie down. (‘down’ is an adverb describing how ‘I’m going to lie’)
- The dog lay in his basket. (‘in his basket’ is a prepositional phrase, introduced by ‘in’)
- The dog has lain in his basket all night. (again, the verb ‘lain’ is followed by a preposition)
Notice that in the examples given above, the verb ‘to lie’ does not carry a direct object (a noun). In these examples the verb is simply followed by an adverb or a preposition.
It would be impossible to make these examples transitive. One could not write ‘I’m going to lie down the bed’ or ‘The dog has lain his bed’. Although these are complete sentences they are utterly nonsensical.
Finally, here are some examples of the other form of the verb ‘to lie’.
- Lie = Root form of a verb used for the present tense
- Lied = Preterite form of a verb used for the simple past tense
- Lied = Past participle of a verb used for the perfect tenses
- It is not acceptable to lie. (no direct object)
- I lied to protect you. (verb is followed by an infinitive phrase)
- I have lied to everyone. (verb is followed by a prepositional phrase making ‘everyone’ the object of the preposition ‘to’ rather than of the verb)
Once again, notice that in the examples the verb ‘to lie’ does not carry a direct object (a noun). In these examples the verb is simply followed by nothing, or an infinitive or a preposition.
It would be impossible to make these examples transitive. One could not write ‘I lied to protect you the table’ or ‘I have lied the story’. Again, although these seem to be complete sentences they are utterly nonsensical.
Conclusion
The different types of verbs exemplified in this post are some of the main types of verbs in English grammar, and each has a different role in sentence construction and connects and interacts differently with the other elements of a sentence.
‘Lay’ and ‘lie’ are thus clarified. The verb ‘to lay’ is transitive, which means it must carry a direct object to complete its meaning. The verb ‘to lie’ in both its senses is intransitive and does not require a direct object, in fact cannot carry a direct object, to give it meaning.
If you have any comments or questions, please do add them below.
Exercises to practise
Have a go at some exercise to cement your understanding of the verbs ‘to lay’ and ‘to lie’.
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