Lay & Lie: Grammar & Writing Tips

It's Wednesday--time for another grammar tip.

Today's Topic: Lay and Lie

At least we can get one thing straight right away. If you don't tell the truth, you tell a lie (past tense: lied). 

Now things start to get more complicated, but here's a simple trick...

A person/animal will lie down, but an object needs someone to lay it down. That's pretty easy. Note: when I grew up, I was taught only humans lie down (animals lay down). That's no longer the case. Animals also lie, unless a chicken needs to lay an egg. *chuckle*

But, as is true of most things in Grammar World, there is a complication.

The past tense of lie is lay. What? Again, the deciders of all things grammar love to mock us. 

So, for a handy resource, I put it in a graphic*.

Just in case I haven't emphasized it enough, Grammar Girl is an excellent resource for your grammar questions. Everything is laid out (see how I did that) in a simple to understand and comprehensive manner.

Thanks to Susan for commenting about covering lay and lie.

Is there an editing/grammar issue that's always caused you trouble? If so, share it in the comments so I can feature it on a future post. 

* I'm just starting to play around with PicMonkey, so no graphic masterpieces yet.