Comments on: Mixing up “lay” and “lie”

By: Susan Kemp

Susan Kemp — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:57:46 +0000

Thanks for new clarity on this ever-confusing issue. It was explained so clearly in my primary school grammar book, but wide-spread incorrect usage by even well-educated English-speaking people has caused me to doubt my memory. I should have kept that old grammar book. This site is a great find, equal to my bible, “The Elements of Style”, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York; Collier Macmillan Publishers, London; Collier Macmillan Canada, Ltd.) I have a 1979 edition. My copy states that the original author, William Strunk, lived from 1869 tot 1946 and gives 1935 as the date of copyright for a revised edition of “The Elements of Style”, catalogued under “English language – Rhetoric”. I read it regularly, but another read is due, as it probably deals with the issue of lay and lie.

By: Mary Connealy

Mary Connealy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:34:33 +0000

Some of this helps. A little. #5 is funny enough to remember.

By: JC

JC — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:13:54 +0000

“She was so drunk when we got home I just laid your sister on the couch.”

Sometimes I think I should have said that I put her there.

By: Vin

Vin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:29:40 +0000

This is a tough one!

I just started my own blog and need to work on improving my grammar. This blog is just what I need. Thanks for providing such a great resource!

By: PreciseEdit

PreciseEdit — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:13:56 +0000

Tricky, tricky verbs.

Here’s the link to our article on using these correctly:
http://preciseedit.com/ArticleLayandLie/tabid/196/Default.aspx

While it’s not quite as technical as your post, readers may find it useful, especially when trying to use these verbs in tenses other than the present.

As always, thanks for the great post.