LIE, LAY, LAIN

The verb 'lie' means 'to rest, repose or to be situated in a place'. Most often this verb is confused with another verb with the same spelling : 'lie' meaning 'to say something that is not true' (past & past participle form 'lied').

Let's consider an example:
'The campus lies in the northern part of the town'. This sentence, which says about the location of the campus, may not pose problems to most of the users as it is in the present indefinite tense. But when it comes to speaking about the past, most of the people, knowingly or unknowingly, say 'The campus lied in the northern part of the town'. 

In fact, it should be  'The campus lay in the northern part of the town' because the second and third forms of 'lie' in this sense are 'lay' and 'lain' respectively.

More examples (past tense):
After the long journey, the children lay down for a nap. 
Cathy and Stella lay on the beach for three hours yesterday. 
Don't disturb Jane; she has just lain down for a rest.
The old dog just lay on the grass watching the kids at play.
(Also note that this verb is often followed by 'down' when it means 'rest')


Good Night friends!!
Jack (Nova English Campus)