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I Cannot Tell a Lay

By Roy Peter Clark

In his famous essay "Politics and the English Language," George Orwell asserts that he is not concerned about correct grammar and syntax, "so long as one makes one's meaning clear." But I cannot recall a single lapse in old George's language that would require the application of a hickory stick to his great anti-colonial bottom.

As a writer I may want to stretch the language to the snapping point for effect, but as a reader I demand attention to standard English, not just for clarity but also to avoid distractions that would make the act of reading less fluent. On the other hand, when the bank robber tells me to, "Lay on the floor face down with your hands over your head," I'm disinclined to respond, "Excuse me, sir, but don't you mean 'lie down'?"

There's lie, there's lay, and there's even lei. 

I have played in rock bands since 1964 and over all those years have seen more than the occasional gig with a Hawaiian theme: tropical fruit punch, shirts with images of hula dancers, the occasional papier-mache volcano, twangy tunes from "The Ventures." Finally, some host or hostess approaches with a ring of flowers and asks mischievously, "How about a lei?" Which, of course is a naughty play upon lay, common slang for having sex.

That spicy introduction leads me to one of the most confusing grammatical constructions of all time:  the distinction between lie and lay. Here's the simplest way to remember the difference: lie means "to recline"; lay means "to place." As in, "Tonight I lay the cushions on the floor so I can lie in comfort."

Confusion sweeps in when we move from the present tense to the past. Alas, the past tense of lie happens to be lay: "When I heard the news, I lay on the bed in disbelief." And the past tense of lay is laid, as in, "The bank robbers laid their weapons on the ground."

What, then, are we to make of the old children's prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep?" The usage is a bit old-fashioned, but to "lay me" just means "to place myself." And we still say, "I think I'll lay [myself] down for a while."

There are at least two useful ways to remember the distinction between lie and lay, words which, according to the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD), have been confused for at least 700 years. (So don't feel so bad.) The first is to remember the three "principal parts" of the verb. Learning the parts of a verb helps you avoid mistakes that occur when those parts are "irregular," that is, different from the normal pattern.

Take a verb such as help. The principal parts are the simple present (help), the simple past (helped), and the past participle (helped). So today I help. Yesterday I helped. In the past, I have helped. Easy enough because the verb is regular.

Not so with a verb such as run. The simple past, we know, is not runned, although a smart child might say that, applying the rule for a regular verb. The principal parts are run, ran, run. Today I run. Yesterday I ran. In the last decade, I have run 10 marathons.

Both lie and lay are irregular and hence more confusing.

A. Lie: Today I lie on the bed. Yesterday I lay on the bed. I have lain on that bed so many times there are holes in the mattress.

B. Lay: Today I lay my cards on the table. Yesterday I laid my cards on the table. I have laid my cards on the table so many times that I was bound to win.

So learning the principal parts of verbs will help you make your meaning and avoid unintended confusion. Another grammar tool you can use is the distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs.

The word transitive derives from the Latin and means to "go across" or to "pass over." Thus, a transitive verb is one in which the meaning passes over from the verb to a direct object. Verbs such as hit, strike and pummel almost always take an object.

Lots of verbs are tricky, and have the ability to work in both a transitive and intransitive meaning. The biblical line "Jesus wept" is intransitive because the verb takes no object, though a lesser evangelist might have made it transitive: "Jesus wept bitter tears."

And some verbs, such as kneel, take no object, and are thus intransitive. You don't "kneel the floor," you kneel on it.

This distinction can help prevent confusion over lie and lay. Simply stated, lay is transitive. Lie is intransitive. You have to lay something. You must lay the book on the table, or the coins on the counter, or the rifle on the sand. On the other hand, lie takes no object. If you know your verb takes an object, use some form of the verb "to lay."

So now you've got it: Lie means to recline and is intransitive. Lay means to place and takes an object. (Just remember that the past tense of lie happens to be lay.)

Lay is a word that also points to the remarkable influence of prepositions upon the meaning of a verb. The technical term for this is "phrasal verb," and includes such examples as "lay about," "lay away," "lay by," "lay aside," "lay into," "lay off," as well as such idiomatic expressions as "lay it on thick" and "lay of the land."

And to return to where we began, the 19th and final definition of lay in the AHD is, you guessed it, "vulgar slang" for "to have intercourse with." Congratulations if you've followed this to the bottom. You deserve a lei.

Full post as published by Writing Tools on June 02, 2008 (boomark / email).