Master confusing words with ease
Lay vs. Lie
Lay
/leɪ/Examples:
He showed us into a long dining-room where breakfast was laid.The studio is hysterical about the picture laying an egg.He lays for a stranger, and he fetches that stranger.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Lie
/laɪ/Examples:
Then suddenly, a lovelier object lay lifeless on the ground.The sick woman was lying on the ground.Herein lies a new revelation, a new language, a direct symbolism.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Lay requires an object to act upon, while lie does not.
- You lay something down, but you lie down yourself.
- Remember: lay/laid/laid and lie/lay/lain for their different verb conjugations.
- If you can replace the verb with put, use lay.
- If you can replace the verb with recline, use lie.
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