Paire confondue · B2
Lay or lie?
Lay needs an object: you lay something down. Lie does not: you lie down yourself. The tenses are what trip people up. Lie goes lie, lay, lain, and lay goes lay, laid, laid — so the past of lie is spelled the same as the present of lay. If you can ask "lay what?" and get an answer, you want lay.
Quel mot, et pourquoi
- lay
takes an object: lay / laid / laid
To put something down carefully.
lay the table · lay it down · laid the foundations
- lie
takes no object: lie / lay / lain
To be or get into a horizontal position.
lie down · lying on the sofa · the town lies south of here
À vous
5 exercices tirés de cette page. Rien n’est enregistré ailleurs que sur votre compte.
Les exercices et leurs explications sont en anglais. C’est volontaire : il s’agit de penser dans la langue que vous apprenez.
Question 1 sur 5
Just down for half an hour and see if the headache passes.