(no subject)
From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
"usage LAY has been used intransitively in the sense of "lie" since the 14th century. The practice was unremarked until around 1770; attempts to correct it have been a fixture of schoolbooks ever since. Generations of teachers and critics have succeeded in taming most literary and learned writing, but intransitive lay persists in familiar speech and is a bit more common in general prose than one might suspect. Much of the problem lies in the confusing similarity of the principal parts of the two words. Another influence may be a folk belief that lie is for people and lay is for things. Some commentators are ready to abandon the distinction, suggesting that lay is on the rise socially. But if it does rise to respectability, it is sure to do so slowly: many people have invested effort in learning to keep lie and lay distinct. Remember that even though many people do use lay for lie, others will judge you unfavorably if you do."
Example sentences from http://hilda.thevalkyrie.com/~randd/laid.htm:
I laid the table yesterday
I will lay it again today
Chickens lay eggs
The chicken laid an egg
Sophie got laid on the table
Paul lay down and Dulcie sucked him off
R & D lied to you about VAST
to lie (to tell untruths)
present tense: I lie, I am lying
past tense: I lied, I was lying
to lie (to recline) - intransitive verb
present tense: I lie down, I am lying down
past tense: I lay down, I was lying down
perfect past: I have lain on my bed
to lay (to spread something out) - transitive verb
present tense: I lay the table, I am laying the table
past tense: I laid the table, I was laying the table
perfect past: I have laid the table
"usage LAY has been used intransitively in the sense of "lie" since the 14th century. The practice was unremarked until around 1770; attempts to correct it have been a fixture of schoolbooks ever since. Generations of teachers and critics have succeeded in taming most literary and learned writing, but intransitive lay persists in familiar speech and is a bit more common in general prose than one might suspect. Much of the problem lies in the confusing similarity of the principal parts of the two words. Another influence may be a folk belief that lie is for people and lay is for things. Some commentators are ready to abandon the distinction, suggesting that lay is on the rise socially. But if it does rise to respectability, it is sure to do so slowly: many people have invested effort in learning to keep lie and lay distinct. Remember that even though many people do use lay for lie, others will judge you unfavorably if you do."
Example sentences from http://hilda.thevalkyrie.com/~randd/laid.htm:
I laid the table yesterday
I will lay it again today
Chickens lay eggs
The chicken laid an egg
Sophie got laid on the table
Paul lay down and Dulcie sucked him off
R & D lied to you about VAST
to lie (to tell untruths)
present tense: I lie, I am lying
past tense: I lied, I was lying
to lie (to recline) - intransitive verb
present tense: I lie down, I am lying down
past tense: I lay down, I was lying down
perfect past: I have lain on my bed
to lay (to spread something out) - transitive verb
present tense: I lay the table, I am laying the table
past tense: I laid the table, I was laying the table
perfect past: I have laid the table