Lay and Lie have plagued us for years. When will we get it straight? Lay is the active verb that means “to place something, plop it down”; lie is what happens afterwards. The something just lies there, much as you lie motionless in bed. “Each night I lay my coins on the bureau before I lie down to sleep.”
The confusion — and it’s a major confusion — arrives with the other version of “lay” (past tense of “lie”). “Those damn coins lay (past tense of lie) there all night.” Who invented this idiotic language anyway?
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