Something I never quite got the hang of…

[ginny_t]

… or maybe I got paranoid about it because everyone else has so much trouble with it?

Lay: passive, "I lay in the sunbeam for hours."
Lie: active, "I'm going to lie in the sun."

So, in that case, "How can I be productive when there's a sunbeam to lay in?" should be wrong, right? But it just seems so right. And really, laying in a sunbeam is about as passive as you can be while not comatose…

There's some silly irony in the current music. ^_^

Comments

[gleefulfreak.livejournal.com]

it's WRONNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG! *whimper*

you can lay yourself in a sunbeam
or you can lie in a sunbeam

but better yet
you can lounge in a sunbeam and escape the whole question :)

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

I lie in a sunbeam. I lay my bag on the floor.

And while that first sentence of yours describes something passive, it's not passive voice.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

You're right about "not passive voice". Maybe because it's been beaten out of me so thoroughly, I can't even muster it anymore.

Stupid "creative writing" teachers. *grumble*

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Oops. Meant to reply to the post, not your comment. :P Time for coffee.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

heh, if I'm avoiding, why not be honest: "to nap in". ^_^

[f-ireworks.livejournal.com]

You know, I was just struggling with that the other day. I think I know when I lie or lay, but when I put it to paper it seems wrong, somehow.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

You said it! *grumble*

[chazriel.livejournal.com]

I still get confused over to and too at times

[shivanesti.livejournal.com]

I get tripped up on it all the time, but gleefulfreak is correct.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

'Tisn't passive, in the first one: it's past tense! Completely different.

The confusion often comes up because while "to lie" and "to lay" are two different words, the past tense of "to lie" is "lay" while the past tense of "to lay" is "laid". (Anyone confused yet? I know I am.)

If anything, "to lay" is more active, because you have to lay something else down. To lie, well, you just lie down all on your own, and can lie around without moving at all. (If you're laying around, you're either setting a lot of things down repeatedly, or, well, being euphemistic about sex, though that'd be a non-standard usage of the phrase.)

And now it makes perfect sense!

...I hope?

[scruloose.livejournal.com]

What the hell, I'll jump in and see if I can make any sense. Or confuse the issue even more. Whatever.

'Lay' is the transitive version of the verb (you can lay a plank down on the ground), including the reflexive (now I lay me down to sleep). It has its own past tense form 'laid' (he laid her gently on the cushions (all double-entendre aside)).

'Lie' is the intransitive version (I'm going to go lie down) or (... a sunbeam to lie in (sorry!)). The screwy bit is that the past tense form of the intransitive 'lie' is 'lay' (the newspaper lay in the rain for hours).

*deep breath*

Passive voice is a sentence with an object but no subject (Drinks were brought to the table).
If you cheat and tack the subject on as a subordinate clause (Drinks were brought to the table by the cute waiter) it's still passive voice. Of course, if you want to point out an action while deflecting attention away from the actor, passive voice is a totally valid way to do it. Although I'd have a hard time justifying that clunky subject-tacked-on-afterwards construction -- at that point I'd just be using regular ol' active voice instead.
Thumbs nose at stupid "creative writing" teachers.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

I knew there was transitive/intransitive in there. ^_^

I didn't actually mean passive voice, I was thinking more about passive as in already lying and continuing to lie. So really, I was sun-befuddled and confusing tenses. *hides*

And yes, "creative writing" teachers should be mocked on a regular basis. ^_^

[csi-tokyo3.livejournal.com]

http://mctabby.livejournal.com/308202.html

Here we use the Lie/Lay Hex to demonstrate when & where to use the proper word.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

*twitch* *giggle*

[everyonesakitty.livejournal.com]

*cowers* the lay lie thing gets me every time!!! Even in instances when I think I understand it, I still somehow manage to type it wrong. *facepalm*

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

I'm not alone! *relieved*

[edg.livejournal.com]

Further confusing the issue, of course, is the "lie" whose past tense is "lied".

(I've been having fun with grammar lately. "This is the cheese the rat the cat the dog the maid the cow kicked scared chased caught ate", "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo", and the like. It turns out, incidentally, that not many people know that "buffalo" is a verb.)

[bunnyhero.livejournal.com]

to my ear, "How can I be productive when there's a sunbeam to lay in?" sounds REALLY wrong.