In the comics pages — which incidentally are written by artists well-versed in the use of U.S. language — one slipped up last week and let the character talk about “…laying around all day, doing nothing”. Oh my!
Many comics writers work “proper English” and “grammar” into their strips, and not always in the standard lie/lay usage conundrum. One strip about golf included the following dialog: “That was a short shot.” The reply: “I was laying up.”
Another use of lay appeared recently: “The cuckoo bird likes to lay its eggs in the nest of other birds.” See? You learn stuff from the comics pages.
So what’s the real skinny on lie/lay? And how can we remember which to use… when? Simple!
Remember that lay is a verb that needs an object — something to lay down or… p-l-A-c-e. Notice the “a”; just like the one in “lay”.
If you can’t think of that, recall that lie is a verb meaning to… r-E-c-l-I-n-E. See the “i” and “e” that also appear in “lie”?
Forget about laying up golf shots and laying eggs — those are completely other meanings. Just remember you need to lay something down (lay the taco on the plate) and it will lie around until somebody eats it (recline in leisure—yet two other “i/e” words).
Your friends will ooh and aah over your expertise in language when you conquer these simple guidelines. Promise! Would I lie to you?
