Lay vs lie: the object test, the past tenses and how to remember them

The rule: lay needs an object, lie does not

Cambridge Dictionary defines the two verbs like this: the verb lay means to put something down carefully in a flat position, and lie is a verb that means to be in or put yourself into a flat position. In its second grammar page, Cambridge adds that lie is an irregular verb and is never followed by an object.

That gives you the test. Look at the sentence and ask what is being put down.

• Lay + object: I lay the baby in the cot. (the baby is the object)
• Lie, no object: The baby lies in the cot. (nothing is being put down)

Test-English gives a similar example: you lay a baby down in its cot to sleep, and "I asked her to lay the baby down for a nap" has the baby as the object.

The forms: why the past of lie is lay

Here is what makes this pair hard. The ELLII guide puts it like this: the thing that is most confusing about these two verbs is that the present tense of lay is the past tense of lie.

Diffen says the same: the reason it seems confusing is that the past tense of lie also happens to be called lay. Both pages show the same chant. Say the principal parts of each verb together, as one unit:

• lay – laid – laid
• lie – lay – lain

Cambridge confirms the pattern for lie: the -ing form is lying and the past simple is lay, as in "She lay on the bed and gazed at the ceiling, daydreaming." It also notes that lie can mean to say something which is not true, which is a different, regular verb.

So the same word lay can be a present verb (I lay the table) or the past of lie (I lay on the bed yesterday). The object test tells you which verb you have.

Examples in every tense

Use these sentences as models. Notice that every lay sentence has an object, and no lie sentence does.

Lay (put down)

• Present: She lays her keys on the table every evening.
• Past: He laid the baby gently in the cot.
• Past participle: I have laid the table for dinner.
• -ing: They are laying a new floor in the kitchen.

Lie (rest flat)

• Present: I lie awake when I'm worried.
• Past: Yesterday, I lay on the sofa all afternoon.
• Past participle: The letter has lain on the desk for a week.
• -ing: He is lying on the grass.

Lie (say something untrue)

• Present: Don't lie to me.
• Past: She lied about her age.
• Past participle: He has lied before.

A useful habit: when you write lay, check whether you mean the present of lay or the past of lie. If there is an object after it, it is the verb lay. If there is a place after it (on the bed, in the sun) and nothing was put down, it is the past of lie.

"Lay down" or "lie down"? The most common mistake

The most frequent error is "lay down" for a person resting. The ELLII guide quotes Bill Bryson, in Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors, who notes that it is a common mistake for people to say, "Go upstairs and lay down." It should be "lie down" because there is no direct object.

So:

• Wrong: I'm tired. I'm going to lay down.
• Right: I'm tired. I'm going to lie down.
• Wrong: He was laying on the couch.
• Right: He was lying on the couch.
• Right: She laid her coat on the couch. (the coat is the object)

This answers a question learners often ask: "Is it laying or lying on the couch?" If a person is resting there, it is lying. If a person is putting something there, it is laying: She is laying a blanket on the couch.

Another common one is "Where do things lie or lay?" Things lie when they are in a place: The book lies on the table. A person lays a thing there: She lays the book on the table.

Cambridge describes lie as meaning to be in a horizontal position or to be in a particular place.

Last point: Cambridge says we don't use lay to talk about being in a flat position. If nobody is putting anything down, the verb is lie.

How to remember it: three tricks

1. Ask about the object. Ask: what is being put down? If you can answer, use lay. If you cannot, use lie.

2. Chant the forms. Diffen suggests that you chant the tenses in your mind as though you are still in elementary school: lay-laid-laid, lie-lay-lain. Say it out loud a few times. It sounds childish, but it works because you get the forms in a fixed rhythm.

3. Swap in another word.

• If put or place fits, use lay. Put the book down works, so lay the book down.
• If rest or recline fits, use lie. I will rest on the sofa, so lie on the sofa.

For the past tense of lie, remember that it is the same as the present of lay. When you see lay with no object after it, read it as the past of lie: I lay on the bed means I was resting on the bed at some time in the past.

If you are still unsure in speech, you can choose a different verb. Put and place replace lay, and rest or be replace lie. This is a perfectly good strategy in conversation, where nobody can see the spelling, and it gives you time to learn the pattern.

Idioms and fixed phrases with lay and lie

Some phrases use one verb only, so learn them as blocks.

Lay (put down or set up)

• lay the table / set the table (British)
• lay the foundations (start something that will grow)
• lay eggs (birds produce eggs)
• lay off (to end someone's job, or to stop doing something)
• lay the blame on someone
• lay out a plan

Lie (rest or be in a place)

• lie down
• lie in bed, lie in (stay in bed late in the morning, British)
• lie low (avoid attention)
• lie ahead (about the future): "Challenges lie ahead."
• the problem lies in…

Lie (not tell the truth)

• tell a lie
• lie through your teeth (lie obviously)
• white lie (a small, harmless lie)

Both verbs have many meanings. The ELLII guide mentions that there are more than fourteen meanings of "lay" and more than eight meanings of "lie" in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, so do not try to learn them all at once. Start with the three core meanings in this guide and add phrases as you meet them.

To learn verb forms in context, read our guide on how to speak English fluently.

Practice: lay or lie?

Choose the correct form. Answers follow.

1. I'm going to ___ down for a nap.
2. Please ___ the report on my desk.
3. Yesterday I ___ on the beach for hours.
4. She has ___ the table already.
5. The dog is ___ by the door.
6. He ___ the keys on the shelf and left.
7. The letter had ___ unopened for days.
8. Don't ___ to me!

Answers: 1. lie. 2. lay. 3. lay (past of lie). 4. laid. 5. lying. 6. laid. 7. lain. 8. lie (untrue).

To practise, say three sentences about your day using the forms: one with lay plus an object, one with lie in the present, and one with lay as the past of lie. For example: "I lay my phone on the table. I lie down after lunch. Yesterday I lay on the sofa." Speaking the forms makes the pattern stick faster than reading.

If you would like a conversation partner for this kind of practice, see our guide to English speaking practice, and an AI tutor can correct a wrong form while you talk.