![]() ![]() Languages change, and we are certainly moving toward a time when style and grammar books no longer distinguish between lay and lie, but we aren’t there yet. I am not lying when I tell you that lie is less commonly used than lay when writing or speaking.(Of course, a second verb to lie means “to deceive,” “to pass off false information as if it were the truth,” but here we are focusing on the meaning of to lie that gives writers the most grief.) For example, you may have heard (or yourself stated) the phrase, “Lay it on me!” Whether the “laying” takes the form of information, food, or a task to be completed, “lay” must be used in this context. In fact, between lie and lay, lay typically contains more usages in the English language. Because the body is the object doing the movement and positioning itself in a specific location (the bed), the verb “to lay” takes the throne. Here, the man is telling the woman to lay her body down. Take a gander at these song lyrics from Bob Dylan’s tune, “Lay Lady Lay”: Rather, “to lay something down” means “to place it in a certain spot.” Therefore, if somebody were instructing you to place a flowerpot in a specific area of a garden, they would say, “Please lay it down over here.” Now, this is not a put-down-as in saying something to hurt somebody’s feelings. Well, no need to ponder any longer! You will find that the answer lies right before your eyes! Layīy definition, the verb, “ to lay,” means, to put down. Parts of a Sentence, Subject and Predicateįeeling tired? Think you may want to lie down? Or, perhaps, you would like to lay your head against a pillow and take a rest? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” you may find yourself dreaming about the right ways and times to use each of these “l-” words.Stalactite/Stalagmite, Etymology and History.Pluto, (Former) Ninth Planet from the Sun. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |