[Magdalen] Fwd: Whither to lie and to lay?

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

If Uris wrote it, who are we to differ?

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 2:16 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> The one that drives me nuts when I encounter it in books and makes me want
> to hurl the book across the room (except it's more frequent on Kindle, and
> you don't want to do that! is something like, "He lay her on the
> ground...." ARGH!
>
> Leon Uris was a big offender.
>
> On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 2:12 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I haven't read all of this thread, but here's my take on this: Lie, and
> > its past tense, Lay, do not take an object. So, "I will lie down on the
> bed
> > now, but last night I lay on the bed."
> > (Then there's the form "I have lain here since yesterday," but that is
> > almost never used.
> >
> > Trouble is, "Lay" is also the present tense of the verb requiring an
> > object: "Please lay the book over there." The past tense of that is
> > "laid."  "Yesterday I laid the book over there."
> > Clear as mud, no?
> >
> > > On Jul 27, 2016, at 11:27 AM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > I used to think I knew the difference but recently heard a contrary
> > > explanation (especially of the past tense, such as "I lay down and
> > > then fell asleep."
> > >
> > > So now I feel I'm on thin ice with my own understanding. Is it this?
> > >
> > > Lay implies motion; lie implies a stationary state - Lay down over
> > > there, and then lie there for a few minutes.
> > >
> > > Past: I lay there for an hour and then woke up.
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 9:42 AM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen
> > > <magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
> > >> It's interesting to reflect that my parents (a farm boy from Minnesota
> > and
> > >> a daughter of Norwegian immigrants) never misused who/whom and  never
> > >> confused to lie and to lay.  The result of that is that I do not
> misuse
> > >> them
> > >> either.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Scott R. Knitter
> > > Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> >
>