1. ieuan

    ieuan New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2007
    Messages:
    145
    Likes Received:
    4

    Stroy using Lie, lay, laying, lied, lying

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by ieuan, Mar 23, 2008.

    Story Using Lie - Lay - Laying - Lied - Lying

    Short story to illustrate the grammar.

    'I don't lie,’ he said forcibly. She could see he was angry at her teasing, should she recant she wondered.

    'Come and lie beside me, she said, wanting to make up. She patted the mattress with her hand. No one is saying you are lying.' Mollified, he laid his tired body down beside her glad to be near her.

    ‘Have you ever lied to me before?’ She asked quietly in almost a whisper. He thought about it before answering, not wanting to break the peacefulness of the occasion. I love lying here with you,’ he said. Hoping she would see the pun, the play on words. She did but got cross with him in turn,

    ‘Please answer me properly.’ He sighed deeply, deep enough for her to hear and hopefully to act upon.

    ‘Let’s not fight.’ She saw wisdom in that.

    ‘OK, but you will answer me, wont you?’ After a very long pause, he decided to come clean,

    ‘I did lie to a girlfriend once, I hated lying to her, I lied to save face and regret it now. Actually, we were lying in this very position on a bed like this. She squinted at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously, he continued. We were chatting, and her old man had popped in, he was furious and without thinking, I blurted out a silly lie.’ She jumped up from the bed, unable to continue to lie there.

    ‘I shall lay the table,’ she said. I must have something to do she thought to herself. He lay on the bed watching her busy herself with laying the table.

    ‘When you have laid the table will you come back to me,’ he asked plaintively. She didn’t answer him but went onto something different.

    'Had we lain next to each other on this bed and my Pater come in it would have been different,’ she said.

    The above is an exercise in the use of three different words:

    1. Lay – a transitive verb, and it is also a past tense of another verb, lie.

    To lay something somewhere is to put something there carefully. The other forms of lay are lays, laying, laid. (notice; lain is not part of this group it belongs to the word lie.)

    2. Lie – another transitive verb in this case two different verbs one being to tell an untruth the other to be in a horizontal position or get into that position. The other forms are lies, lying, lay, lain. The past participle, lain is rarely used. Notice lay here is the past tense of to lie down. So to lie beside her as past tense would be. He lay beside her.
    In the case of telling a lie, an untruth the other forms are: lies, lying, lied.


    I have always struggled with these three words, the exercise has helped me but I may have made a mistake. If I have, could you point it out to me. I am not saying I have made a mistake but I may have inadvertently.

    Ieuan
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice