Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Members help members on grammar, vocab, pronunciation...

Moderator: EC

Post Reply
kwfine
Rising Star
Rising Star
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:54 pm
Status: Learner of English

Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Post by kwfine »

I was listening to a song when I heard of some words like these:
"I lay my love on you...it's all I wanna do".
As far as I know, "lay" is a past tense of "lie", so I don't understand why some people like to use "lay" instead of "lie", but some others like to use "lie" instead of "lay".
I came across this question, because I heard of my friend telling me that "my heart lies in another boy", but not "my heart lay in another boy".
User avatar
Joe
Admin/Teacher
Admin/Teacher
Posts: 1789
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2003 6:56 am
Status: Teacher of English
Location: England

Re: Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Post by Joe »

You are right: lay is past of lie. (irregular lie, lay, lain)

BUT there is another verb, completely different: lay (irregular lay, laid, laid) "To lay" means to put something down (in a horizontal position). You could lay your book on the table, for example. Chickens lay eggs.

Please see the following EnglishClub page for a full explanation:
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/cw-lie-lay.htm
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :-| " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

eBooks: English Prepositions List | Essential Business Words | Learn English in Seven
User avatar
Tukanja
Top Contributor
Top Contributor
Posts: 535
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:47 pm
Status: Learner of English

Re: Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Post by Tukanja »

lie (lying), lay, lain ¬ to be or move into horizontal position
lie-in ¬ a time staying in bed longer then usual in the morning ¬ noun
lie in ¬ to say in bed longer than usual ¬ verb
lie up ¬ to hide from the chase
lie, lay, lain ¬ to exist,
lie, lay, lain ¬ being in a state of
lie, lay, lain ¬ to point the finger of suspicion to someone
lie down on the job ¬ to not to work as hard as it was expected
lie in wait/ambush ¬ waiting for someone so as to atack the one
lie, lied, lied ¬ not telling the truth
lie ¬ noun, opposite truth
give the lie to sth ¬ to prove sth isn't the truth
lay laid laid ¬ to put something into horizontal position
lay the basis ¬ to enable something else to happen later on
get laid ¬ have sex
lay down ¬ to establish a rule
lay odds ~ suppose
lay blame ~ accuse
lay claim ¬ to declare something belongs to the speaker
lay an egg ¬ to develope something unreasonable and unnecessery
lay ¬ adjective ¬ false or not suitable for something
layperson ¬ not suitable person, person without knowledge
layoff ¬ forced leave or pause
lay up ¬ to stop the process
lay sb off ¬ to give a temprary elbow to someone
lay the thing out ¬ to explain the thing properly or to design the guy properly
to lay money out ¬ to squander a lot of money or miss on a lot of opportunities
layaway ¬ noun ¬ a sum of money
layover ¬ sth like stopover
lay sth aside ¬ to stop using sth for a while
lay your head on the block ¬ risk your neck to help someone else
lay stress on sth ¬ put emphasis on sth
lay marker on sth ¬ show clearly your opinion
lay the groundwork ¬ do some preparation for later work

Must be more meanings.

And they say, English is easy to get.
User avatar
Joe
Admin/Teacher
Admin/Teacher
Posts: 1789
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2003 6:56 am
Status: Teacher of English
Location: England

Re: Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Post by Joe »

Great post, Tukanja!
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :-| " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

eBooks: English Prepositions List | Essential Business Words | Learn English in Seven
User avatar
Tukanja
Top Contributor
Top Contributor
Posts: 535
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:47 pm
Status: Learner of English

Re: Different in meaning between using "lay" and "lie"

Post by Tukanja »

Oh, thanks!
Post Reply