Grammar 101: Lie vs Lay & Lying vs Laying

When I was writing about the giant Camarasaurus dinosaur yesterday, I came to a sentence where I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to use “lying” or “laying”. While most people probably learn this basic grammar lesson in grade school, I can’t seem to remember the “rule” for deciding which word to use. I’m assuming that I’m not the only one.

Instead of just taking a guess, I went and looked it up so I could use it properly. Here’s what Grammar Check has to say about it:

Let’s begin with two easy ways to remember when to use “lie” or “lay.” If the first one doesn’t help, move on to the second (or vice versa).

1. Try the “rest/place” test. Substitute a form of “lie” or “lay” with a form of “rest” or “place.” If a form of “rest” makes more sense, use a form of LIE. If a form of “place” makes more sense, use a form of LAY.

Rest (rested, resting) = lie (lay, lain, lying)

Place (placed, placing) = lay (laid, laid, laying)

2. Use LIE (or one of its conjugated forms) when referring to something physically “connected” to the person or thing doing the lying or laying. Use LAY (or one of its conjugated forms) when referring to something physically “disconnected” from the person or thing doing the lying or laying.

The first example works very well for me and I found it to be very easy to remember. As it turns out, my instincts were correct and I was using the right word in yesterday’s dinosaur post. Neat.

The Grammar Check article goes on about the confusing words a bit more in-depth. I’d suggest reading it just for the sake of better writing and speaking. There were some cases where I didn’t even know what I was saying was completely wrong (but nobody notices or corrects me because most people do the same). It even goes into a brief stint about how one of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs uses the incorrect word in its lyrics.

Read up and learn!