Lay or Lie?

Lay or lie?

A semi-regular series in which I talk about errors that come up a lot in my proofreading and editing work.

Confusion appears to be growing about the proper use of the verbs “to lie” (to recline) and “to lay” (to place or put down). I see “lay” used incorrectly on the internet all the time, I hear it on podcasts, and among other things it seems to be endemic to the fitness profession in real life. I also see it in published books, which makes me sad, so here’s my attempt to straighten things out.

Essentially, lie is a “doing” verb, while lay is a passive one. A person lies down, but a thing must be laid down BY someone. (In grammatical terms, “to lie” is an intransitive verb while “to lay” is a transitive verb that requires a direct object to complete it.)

Not an actual rule, but a possibly helpful rule of thumb that occurred to me while writing this post: If you can replace the word “lay” with “put” or “place”, “lay” is likely to be correct. If you can’t, think about whether you should actually be using “lie”.

Examples:

INCORRECT: Lay down on your mat.*
CORRECT: Lie down on your mat.

INCORRECT: They lie the yoga mats on the ground.
CORRECT: They lay the yoga mats on the ground.

INCORRECT: The cats were laying on the bed.
CORRECT: The cats were lying on the bed.

CORRECT USE OF “TO LIE”: I lie on my bed, remembering yesterday, when I lay** by the beach in the sunshine. I have lain there many times, listening to the waves.

CORRECT USE OF “TO LAY”: I lay down the teacup carefully. Yesterday I laid it down carelessly and spilt the tea. I have laid down many cups in my life, and have a tendency to be careless with them.

I hope this post clarifies things a little. Honestly, I’m increasingly noticing this error in published books, and I suspect that eventually (in another fifty years or so) “lay” will become acceptable as a straight replacement for “lie”. But at the moment, it isn’t accepted practice, so if you work with me, expect me to correct it!

[Photo by Alex Shaw on Unsplash. Image shows two women sitting cross-legged on yoga mats, with a bamboo curtain in the background.]

*Yoga instructors, I’m looking at you.

**Yes, the past tense of “lie” is “lay”. Because the English language is ridiculous, which is why we need editors and proofreaders.