Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone!

When I got home, I (lay/ laid) on the bed.

I understand "lay" is the grammatically correct choice, but when I searched "I laid on the bed" on the Internet, I found a lot of matches.
Does that mean 1."lay (laid in the past tense) on the bed" can be fine, or 2. so many people make this mistake?

Thank you!

yoshi-pooh

[CP]

Everyone makes the mistake, but you should not.

lie, lay, lain is the intransitive verb meaning to recline. Last night I lay down to sleep about midnight.

lay, laid, laid is the transitive verb meaning to put down. Last night I laid down my book and went to sleep about midnight.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[buddhaheart]


No doubt these 2 words have caused considerable grief not only for the ESL learners but native speakers as well!

�Lay� (the past of �lie�) is indeed the correct choice. �Lie�(present form) doesn�t take an object; �lay�does. The past of �lay� is �laid�. You may say, I laid (the past of �lay�) myself on the bed.

Other examples: The Town lies in a valley. Lay your hands on the table.

[CP]

[yoshi-pooh]

buddhaheart, CP, thank you for your replies.

I was surprised to hear that "to lie" and "to lay" are confusing even to native English speakers.

I'd like to ask one more thing about the children's prayer CP has quoted.

"Now I lay me down to sleep"

Why isn't it "lay myself down"? I understand "...self" is normally used when the object of the verb is the same person with the subject.

The lyrics to "Bridge over troubled water" is another example. It also says, " Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down".

Thank you in advance.

yoshi-pooh

[buddhaheart]


Yoy�re right, Yoshi. Strictly speaking, it should be I lay myself down to sleep or I will lay myself down. But sometimes in poetry, prayer or in the lyrics you cited, the accusative �me� is used reflectively.