The Chicken and the Egg (Lie vs. Lay)

Do you lie the book on the table,

or do you lay the book on the table?

This has confused too many for much too long.

Let’s clear the confusion!

lay/laid (verb) means:

to put or set an object down

ex: If you lay the book by the coffeemaker, he is sure to see it in the morning.
ex: He laid the loaded gun on the ground slowly.
ex: The chicken has laid many eggs this week.

HELPFUL HINT:

Image via Wikipedia

We all know a chicken lays an egg. A chicken would never lie an egg, though if it could talk it might lie about how many eggs it produces to keep out of the stew pot!

When a chicken lays an egg, it sets or puts the egg (the object) in the chicken coop. Therefore, if we can remember that a chicken lays an egg, we’ll remember that lay needs an object. By default, lie will not need the object.

When you want to remember if you should use lie or lay to put an object on the table, think of the chicken and how it lays an egg! With that in mind, check out the chart below:

Present Tense      Past Tense      Past Participle
Lay                            Laid                    Laid

Let’s go back to the chicken and the egg and practice using the present tense, past tense, and past participle. Actually, let’s forget about the chicken and concentrate on the egg!

If I lay the egg on the table (present tense) every morning,
then it follows that yesterday I laid an egg on the table (past tense),
and over the past week I have laid many eggs on the table (past participle).

Of course, after I finished all the hard work of laying the egg on the table, I was in need of a rest so I went to lie down. Oh no, we’ve just introduced the confusing partner word of LIE!

lie/lay/lain (verb) means:

to lie down (as in a person or animal, not an object)

ex: If I lie down for a few minutes, I’ll be rested enough to tackle the next task.
ex: My dog lay curled up at my feet last night.
ex: The grieving man had lain on the couch in a stupor for days.

Present Tense      Past Tense      Past Participle
Lie                              Lay                     Lain

Now let’s practice using the present tense, past tense, and past particle!

If I lie down on the bed to rest (present tense),
then it follows that yesterday I lay down to rest (past tense),
and that I have lain on the bed to rest many afternoons this week (past participle)!

Now let’s combine the charts for a reference.

Present Tense      Past Tense      Past Participle
Lay                             Laid                   Laid
Lie                              Lay                     Lain

Where does this leave you? Is it clear as crystal? Or are you clearly confused?

Take a deep breath and…just remember the chicken and the egg!

Advertisement