LIE -To lie down is an act that can be attributed to the subject. There is no object  of  this verb, as the subject is doing the action without a receiver.
 

Conjugation of LIE:

I lie down today. (present tense)

The money lay there yesterday. (past tense)

Sarah will lie down there tomorrow. (future tense)

The book has lain here many times before. (use perfect tense with have, had, has)
 
 

LAY - Lay must have a direct object. One lays something down. (Hint: substitute "put." If "put" works, then "lay" is also correct.)

Conjugation of LAY:

I lay the book down. (present tense)

I laid it down yesterday. (past tense)

I will lay it down again tomorrow. (future tense)

I have laid it here many times before. (use perfect tense 
with have, had, has)
 

Exercise for All Grade Levels:

Choose the lie or lay for each of the blanks below. Be sure to use the correct tense.

1. He _____ on the hard pavement this morning, gasping for breath.
2. How long did he _____ there?
3. I don't know how long he had ______ there.
4. He picked up the wounded bird and _____ it gently on the table.
5. She _____ her sewing aside and went to the door.
6. Are you going to _____ there all day?
7. The three puppies ______ in the basket.
8. Linda _____ her coat on the couch.
9. Not feeling well, he _____ in his bed all day.
10 He decided to just _____ around the house all summer.
11 Someone _____ the dictionary on my glasses.
12 The money _____ there all day in plain sight.
13 She had _____ the book on the ground under the tree.
14 Ginny _____ down on a beach towel.
15 I saw the hat that you _____ on the hall table.
16 She had just _____ down for a nap when the phone rang.
17 The two teenagers _____ in the sun all day.
18 Have they _____ the cornerstone of the building yet?
19 She had _____ the coverlet over the child at midnight.
20 He should not ____ the blame for the accident on the other driver.

Additional Exercise for Upper Grades:

Ann __1___ the baby on the bed and then __2__ his stuffed bear beside him. I wondered how long the baby would __3___ there without crying. Aunt Marge said that she remembered one day when he had __4___ in the same position for an hour. She said another time when she was there, the puppy had __5___ next to the baby on the bed. She remembered picking up the puppy while it was still asleep. Then she __6__ the puppy on the rug. When Aunt Marge left, the puppy was still there. It had __7___ there for nearly two hours sound asleep! Meanwhile, the baby woke up and __8___ quietly for fully half an hour just watching the puppy snore. Finally, neither the puppy nor the baby could __9___ there any longer, so the baby __10___ on the old sympathy play and started whining pitifully until Ann was forced to __11___ aside the sweater that she had hoped to finish knitting while the baby __12___ down.

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ANSWER KEY:

1. lay
2. lie
3. lain
4. laid
5. laid
6. lie
7. lay
8. laid
9. lay
10 lie
11 laid
12 lay
13 laid
14 lay
15 laid
16 lain
17 lay
18 laid
19 laid
20 lay
 

Answers for Paragraph:

1. laid
2. laid
3. lie
4. lain
5. lain
6. laid
7. lain
8. lay
9. lie
10 laid
11 lay 
12 lay
 
 
 

Submitted by:  © Elaine Ernst Schneider  is a freelance writer and a teacher. She has been writing since high school and has published articles, songs, and children's work. Presently, Elaine is a curriculum author for Group Publishing and also writes the City Songs column for www.newcolonist.com ezine.

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