Two words I struggled with using for a long time were lie and lay. They not only sound the same, every time I picture them in my head, they tend to create similar images. In fact, they even mean pretty similar things (check your grammar software’s dictionary, if you don’t believe me), although good grammar dictates a correct and incorrect way to use each one.
Both of the words “lay” and “lie” carry multiple definitions. In the context of this guide, however, we’ll focus on the point of confusion between the two. When deciding whether to use “lay” or “lie”, it’s important to reacquaint yourself with identifying verbs and subjects.
Avoid Confusion
While confusing to the untrained, usage of both “lay and lie” is simple enough that you can learn it in a minute. Each one of them is intended for use on well defined, very specific sentence formats.
Lay
“Lay” is something you do to an object. For instance, you lay your head down on a table or lay your arms to rest. If the action is performed on a specific subject, “lay” should be used as the verb.
Lie
“Lie”, on the other hand, is employed in sentences when there is no specific object the action is being done to. As such, you lie down in bed when you’re tired or your cat lies right next to the TV. In these cases, the subject of the sentence performs the action.
There are still a lot of words that often being misuse and confuse by a lot of people. If you look it into a dictionary, you can see a lot of words with different spellings but can be pronounced in the same way with the other word. In a research study, there have been over 3000 words in the dictionary that has the same sound with the other word making the people a bit confuse on what is the exact word that they will going to use in their statements. Same goes into writing. When you had commit a mistake in using the wrong word in your sentence instead with the words that sounded like it, people can clearly see and read that you had committed a very bad mistake.
And you don’t want to be embarrassed, do you? So start furnishing your mind and study these confusing words in order to avoid bad grammar in your writings. There’s no need to be surprise if you had encountered these words or this situation. It has been part of your writing experience to encounter these words in your writing compositions. As we all know, bad gram mars can really make your reputation as writer down. Whenever you start writing your own piece and you came up with those confusing words, if you are not that sure on what word is appropriate in your sentence, you should always look into a dictionary in order to find the correct meaning of those words.
The next time you are going to write, check your grammar first. If possible, conduct a research on what words are you going to write next and how are you going to deliver it well so that you won’t come up with bad grammars.
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