In it you’ll find useful articles about using proper grammar and other writing-related issues, including this article on the Top 20 Misused (and Mistreated) Words.
Past tense of lay eyes on free#
Want more articles like this one about grammar rules and confusing words like lie or lay? Check out our free newsletter Submit Write Now! delivered right to your e-mail inbox. Revisit these rules a few times, and soon enough, you will realize there is no mystery at all. Let’s go back to the quiz at the beginning of this article. Think you have it figured out? If you need a quick and easy reminder, remember this: People lie down, but chickens lay eggs. Sabastian, my hairstylist, had laid down the law the last time I cut my own hair. I had lain there for three hours before I decided to simply shave the rest of my head. Sentences using these rules would look like this:
We hear you.) This is when you throw in a “helping” word, like “had.” In these instances, lie becomes lain…and lay once again becomes laid. When using lie and lay in their past-participle form, they evolve even further! (“Past participle?” you ask, tearing your eyes away from the vision in the mirror. Ready for a few more headache-inducing caveats? We thought you might be. The past tense, again, is tricky, and often the one that gets overused in these instances, lay would become laid: I laid the scissors down and let out a bloodcurdling scream. **Very Handy Tip: If you can replace the word in question with “put,” then lay is the correct word to use.Ĭontinuing with our previous example, after you had done your best to give yourself hair like Zooey Deschanel, you would lay (or put) down the scissors and stare at the mirror in horror. Note: if you put something down, the object is what completes the meaning of this form of the word lay. So far, so good.īut the past tense of this definition is what gives us trouble, since it looks identical to the present tense of the word lay.ĭefinition of Lay: to place, which is always followed by an object to place or put something. For instance, after looking in the mirror and seeing what your hair looks like after your bangs debacle, you probably need to lie down right now. This definition applies when you’re talking about a person reclining in a horizontal position. The past tense is conjugated with lay or have/had lain, depending on the subject. The present tense is conjugated the same as Lie #1. Note: if you (or some other person) are resting, then you use this form, Lie #2. However, now we come to another definition (thanks, English).ĭefinition of Lie #2: to recline, or to be in a horizontal position to rest oneself. You lie about the bad haircut, you lied about the bad haircut, and you’re still lying about the bad haircut even as we speak. This is the version of lie you use when you tried to cut your own bangs: you lied and said that it had been done instead by a rogue hairstylist. The past tense is simply conjugated with lied. The present tense is conjugated with lie/lies/lying, depending on the subject.
Not sure? Let us help you solve the mystery behind the lie and lay rules! Let’s start with the definitions of lie and lay.ĭefinition of Lie #1: to say something untrue in order to benefit to fib. Can you tell which one?ĭo you know which is correct in this example? At Writer’s Relief, you might think we’re only interested in researching the best markets for your writing and boosting your odds of getting published, but our grammar experts know lie and lay are difficult verbs! Do you need to lie down? Lay down? Forget that! Wake up, read the examples below, and you’ll know when to use lie or lay. Figuring out whether you should use lie or lay can give you a headache.
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