The abuse of the verb “to lay” is common: An officer to his troops: “Lay low!” To a randy dog: “Lay down!” On a hot day: “We were just laying around.” Sorry. All should have used the verb “to lie” in its proper tense, as in “Lie low!”; “Lie down!”; and “We were just lying around.”
But “lay it on the line” is proper. What is the difference? “To lay” is a transitive (action) verb and must therefore have a direct object (either a noun or pronoun); in the preceding sentence the pronoun “it” receives the action of the verb and is a direct object. Not so in the three sentences in the opening paragraph.
The tenses of the verb are lay (present), laid (past), laid (imperfect), and laying (participle). Proper uses: “Lay the book on the chair”. “Last Tuesday he laid the sod in his back yard”, “They have laid their bets in the fourth race.” “Laying their anger aside, they made peace.” (The direct objects are italicized in each sentence.) The nouns or pronouns must be present to receive the action.
Those who read our last issue can see how the confusion arises; the tenses of the intransitive verb “to lie” are lie (present), lay (past), lain (imperfect), and lying (participle) — all very similar in appearance but very different in meaning. “To lie” is a verb of being, not action; therefore, there is never a direct object.
Take time to separate the two verbs in their tenses, and once you have them committed to memory, application is a snap.
There are those who say “What difference does it make? If I tell the dog to lay down, the dog, and all those in the room will know exactly what I mean; and they couldn’t care less.” Perhaps. But once you are aware of the rules and can apply them properly, you will take note when someone gets it right. It compares to the difference between a sour note and perfect harmony. And, this glorious tool we often take for granted, the English language, is enhanced, if only a tiny bit.
We urge you not to lay any grammatical eggs.
But “lay it on the line” is proper. What is the difference? “To lay” is a transitive (action) verb and must therefore have a direct object (either a noun or pronoun); in the preceding sentence the pronoun “it” receives the action of the verb and is a direct object. Not so in the three sentences in the opening paragraph.
The tenses of the verb are lay (present), laid (past), laid (imperfect), and laying (participle). Proper uses: “Lay the book on the chair”. “Last Tuesday he laid the sod in his back yard”, “They have laid their bets in the fourth race.” “Laying their anger aside, they made peace.” (The direct objects are italicized in each sentence.) The nouns or pronouns must be present to receive the action.
Those who read our last issue can see how the confusion arises; the tenses of the intransitive verb “to lie” are lie (present), lay (past), lain (imperfect), and lying (participle) — all very similar in appearance but very different in meaning. “To lie” is a verb of being, not action; therefore, there is never a direct object.
Take time to separate the two verbs in their tenses, and once you have them committed to memory, application is a snap.
There are those who say “What difference does it make? If I tell the dog to lay down, the dog, and all those in the room will know exactly what I mean; and they couldn’t care less.” Perhaps. But once you are aware of the rules and can apply them properly, you will take note when someone gets it right. It compares to the difference between a sour note and perfect harmony. And, this glorious tool we often take for granted, the English language, is enhanced, if only a tiny bit.
We urge you not to lay any grammatical eggs.
– Ken Butera