The verb lie means 'to rest' or 'to recline', 'to remain in a lying position'.Its principal parts (Stammformen) are lie, lay, lain, lying. The
verb lie never takes an obejct (=intransitive).
The verb lay means 'to put' or 'to place (something)'. Its principal parts are lay, laid, laid, laying. These form may have objects (=transitive).
|to lie (to rest)
|to lay (to put)
|to lie (=liegen)
||to lay (=legen)
|Occasionally I lie down
||Lay the boards down.
|The letter is lying on the desk
||I was laying the letter on the desk.
|Yesterday Ben lay on the sand.
||Yesterday Ben laid these towels on the sand.
|How long have you lain there?
||Have you laid your work aside?
Now do the following exercise by writing the correct form of the proper verb (lie - lay) for each of these
1. An old mine used to ________________ at the foot of the mountain.
2. He ________________ his glasses aside and frowned.
3. I shall _______________ down for a few minutes.
4. She had ___________________ on the divan before.
5. The baby was still ___________________ quietly in his cradle.
6. The woman _________________ the baby in his cradle an hour ago.
7. Is the newspaper _____________________ in the rain?
8. No, I have _________________ the paper near the fireplace to dry.
9. Last summer my dog often __________________ in his doghouse.
10. _________________ down, Snoopy.