quick Q

Tripkipke

I'm belgian, speak englisch, french and dutch fluent but my writing isn't what its supposed to be

Now the Q,
2 words,
to lie (telling a lie)
to lie (the horizontal position )

are they both lying or is one of them laying?
I asked this to several irish people but they don't seem to know either.

tnx, Tripkipke

Talliesin

lying

Talliesin

Surprisingly the confusing "lying" and "laying" isn't that rare. Or at least its common enough that I found the following note at http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/classicerrors/grammartips/lyingandlaying:

Lying and Laying

Don't mix up 'lie' and 'lay'. You lay something, as in they are going to lay the carpet, but you lie down on a bed or other flat surface. Sentences such as he is laying on the bed or why don't you lie it on the bed? are wrong: correct forms are he is lying on the bed and why don't you lay it on the bed?

The past tense and past participle of 'lay' is 'laid', as in they laid the groundwork or she had laid careful plans; the past tense of 'lie' is 'lay' (he lay on the floor) and the past participle is 'lain' (she had lain on the bed for hours).

Tripkipke

thanks this was really helpfull