Writing Wednesday:

1. Writing Wednesday: Lie or Lay?

2. Lay: • Lay means “to place something down.” • It is something you do to something else.

3. Lay Cont: • Incorrect: Lie the book on the table. • Correct: Lay the book on the table. • (The action is being done to something else)

4. Lie: • Lie means “to recline” or “be placed.” • It does not act on anything or anyone else.

5. Lie Cont: • Incorrect: Lay down on the couch. • Correct: Lie down on the couch. • (It is not being done to anything else.)

6. Past Tense: • The reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses. • The past tense of lay is laid. • The past tense of lie is lay.

7. Past Tense Cont: • Incorrect: I lay it down here yesterday. • Correct: I laid it down here yesterday. • (The action is being done to something else.) • Incorrect: Last night I laid awake in bed. • Correct: Last night I lay awake in bed. • (The action is not being done to something else.)

8. Past Participles: Lie • The past participle of lie is lain. • Ex: I could have lain in bed all day. • (Sounds weird, I know, but this is RIGHT.)

9. Past Participles: Lay • The past participle of lay is the same as its past tense: laid. • Example: They have laid an average of 500 feet of telephone line per day. LAYED IS A MISSPELLING AND DOES NOT EXIST! USE LAID.

10. Set or Sit • Sit – to rest or recline • Set- to place or put something

12. Examples: • The student (sat, set) in his desk. • The teacher (sat, set) the papers on the table.

13. The books have been (sat, set) on the table. • I (sat, set) the cat down on the table. • I (sat, set) on the chair. • (Sat, Set) the box over there.