No Mistakes Grammar Bites, Volume I

Lie, Lay, Laid, and It's and Its

Giacomo Giammatteo

• Publisher: Inferno Publishing Company
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• eBook ISBN:
  9781940313894
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Guaranteed Not to Be Confusing Don't Ever Be Confused by Grammar Again. Take a "bite" out of Grammar with No Mistakes Grammar Bites. It seems as if many dictionaries and books on grammar do their best to confuse people. Words and explanations are defined using grammatical terminology that is difficult to understand; in fact, if you knew that terminology, you probably wouldn't have to look up the words to begin with. We're aiming to get rid of that and explain things in plain English, using language that is easy to understand. Try it out and see for yourself. If you find these books confusing, write to me and get a refund; they're guaranteed.

Lie, Lay, Laid, and Lain

The Easy Way to Use Lie, Lay, and Laid

Let’s discuss two of the easier ways to remember how to use the words properly. Since not everyone learns in the same manner, one may suit you better than the other. Either one works, so pick which works best for you.

The Substitution Method

Never again struggle with how to properly use lie, lay, or laid—and even lain. With this simple-to-understand chart, you’ll immediately see if you're using the words properly.

We'll be using a word-substitution process, and we'll be using commonly known words, so it should be simple. By the way, the lesson includes lain but almost nobody uses that word these days, so I don’t mention it much.

Look at the chart, then look at the examples that follow.

Now, let's analyze the chart so that you understand it.

If you’re confused about which version of lie or lay to use simply substitute sit, sat, or set to see which sounds right, then refer to the chart, which shows you which word to use.

Let’s look at a simple example. If you were going to tell your dog to get down on the floor, would you say “Lie down” or would you say “Lay down”?

Since you’re telling your dog to do it now, you need to look at the chart next to lie and lay in the present tense. There are only two options—sit and set.

You wouldn’t tell your dog to “set” down, you’d say “sit” down, so looking at the chart, you’d see the answer is lie. You would tell your dog to “lie” down.

I could go on for pages, but I think that would only confuse things. If you use the chart, it’s easy to determine which word to use by substituting the proper form of sit or set.

Tenses of lie/lay/laid and sit/sat/set

If you were going to write something like "I think I'm going to lay down." Before committing to the word lay, think of how you'd write the sentence if you were using either of the verbs sit or set.

If you are “going to lie/lay down,” it is happening now, which means it’s present tense. Looking at the chart, we see the only option for “resting” in the present tense is lie. So the correct way to write that sentence would be “I think I’m going to lie down.”

When you want to use any of the verbs lie, lay, laid, and lain, think of what you'd say if you were talking about “sitting” or “setting,” and use the appropriate word from the chart.

Now we’re going to look at a few sample sentences before moving on to the next lesson.

Examples Are Always Easier

You may need to refer to the chart often when you first start. Afterward, using the words properly should come naturally.

To make it easier, I’ll include the cha...

Table of contents

• Copyright NonFiction
• Title Page
• Introduction
• 1. Lie, Lay, Laid, and Lain
• 2. Examples Are Always Easier
• 3. Lesson Two
• 4. It's and Its
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Also by Giacomo Giammatteo