Practice
Lie down or lay down: choosing the right verb
After a long flight, you may want to lie down. If you put your phone on the table first, you lay it down. The small change in the verb changes whether the sentence needs an object.
Choose lie down when no object is put down, and choose lay down when a person puts something down.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
lie down, lay down, laid down /laɪ daʊn/, /leɪ daʊn/, /leɪd daʊn/
The short answer
Use lie down when a person or animal rests and no object follows the verb. Use lay down when someone puts an object down. Remember that lay is also the past form of lie, so yesterday I lay down is correct.
Please lie down for a few minutes.
Why it works: The speaker asks one person to rest. No object is put down.
5 more examples
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The dog likes to lie down near the window.
The dog changes position to rest. The verb has no object.
Not this:Maya
laid the blanket downnear the window. What changes: Blanket is the object that Maya put down, so this sentence uses lay in the past. -
I need to lie down after the appointment.
The speaker plans to rest. Nothing receives the action.
Not this:I will
lay the folder downafter the appointment. What changes: Folder is the object, so lay describes placing it down. -
Yesterday, he lay down on the sofa before dinner.
Lay is the simple past form of lie in this sentence about resting.
Not this:Yesterday, he
laid the package downon the sofa. What changes: Laid is the past form of lay because he put the package somewhere. -
The baby has lain down for a nap.
Lain is the past participle of lie after has.
Not this:The nurse
has laid the chart downon the desk. What changes: Laid is the past participle of lay when an object is placed down. -
Please lie down if you feel dizzy.
This is an instruction to rest, so it uses lie without an object.
Not this:Please
lay the camera downif your hands are tired. What changes: Camera is the object, so the instruction uses lay.
Read the full guide
First, look for an object. If the sentence is about a person or animal resting, use lie down. If a person places an item somewhere, use lay down and name the item.
Rest with lie down
Use lie down when a person or animal moves into a resting position. The verb does not need an object. You can ask who is resting, but you cannot ask what the person is lying down.
I usually lie down for ten minutes after lunch.
The speaker is the person resting. The sentence does not name an item that is put down.
Is anyone putting an object down in this sentence?
No. The sentence is about the speaker resting, so lie down is correct.
Put an object down with lay down
Use lay down when someone puts an object in a lower position or on a surface. Name the object after lay, or use a pronoun such as it or them.
Lay your coat down on the chair.
Your coat is the object. The speaker asks someone to place it on the chair.
What is being put down?
The coat is being put down, so lay down is the right choice.
Check the past forms
The past forms cause most of the confusion. The past of lie is lay: Last night, I lay down early. The past of lay is laid: Last night, I laid my phone down. Keep the object check when you write about the past.
After the hike, we lay down on the grass.
We rested, so lay is the past form of lie. There is no object after the verb.
Which past form do you need when a person puts a bag down?
Use laid because bag is the object that the person put down.
Use lain and laid after have
After have, has, or had, use lain for resting and laid for placing an object. The forms make the difference visible: has lain down describes a person who has rested, while has laid the book down describes an action done to a book.
The cat has lain down beside the radiator.
The cat is resting, so the sentence uses lain. In The child has laid the toy down, toy is the object, so the sentence uses laid.
Which form follows has when someone rests?
Use lain after has when the subject has rested.
Make the choice before you write
Before choosing the verb, ask whether the subject is resting or placing something. If the action has an object, choose lay down. If the subject is simply resting, choose lie down. This quick question also works with the past forms.
She laid the tablet down, then lay down on the bed.
Tablet is the object of laid. In the second action, she rests, so lay is the past form of lie.
Why does this sentence use both laid and lay?
Laid describes putting the tablet down. Lay describes the later action of resting.
Before you go
Remember this
Lie down means rest in a flat position and does not take an object. Lay down means put something down and takes an object. In the past, use lay for resting and laid for putting an object down.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Lie down or lay down: choosing the right verb"
When should I use lie down?
Use lie down when a person or animal rests in a flat position and no object receives the action. For example, The dog likes to lie down near the window describes the dog's position. In the simple past, use lay down for this meaning: Yesterday, the dog lay down near the window.
The dog likes to lie down near the window.
When should I use lay down?
Use lay down when someone puts an object on a surface or in a lower position. The object can be a noun or a pronoun. In Maya laid the blanket down near the window, blanket is the thing Maya placed. In the past, the form is laid down, not lay down.
Maya laid the blanket down near the window.
Why is lay down sometimes the past of lie down?
Lie has unusual past forms: lie, lay, lain. That means Yesterday, I lay down early describes resting in the past. Lay is also a separate present-tense verb that needs an object, as in I lay the keys down. Use the sentence meaning and object to tell the two uses apart.
I need to lie down after the appointment.
What is the difference between laid and lain?
Use lain after have, has, or had when someone or something has rested: The baby has lain down for a nap. Use laid after have, has, or had when someone has put an object down: The nurse has laid the chart down. The object is the quickest clue.
I will lay the folder down after the appointment.
Can I say lay down in an instruction?
Yes, but check whether the instruction includes an object. Say Please lie down when you tell someone to rest. Say Please lay the camera down when you tell someone to place the camera somewhere. Both forms are possible in instructions, but they describe different actions.
Yesterday, he lay down on the sofa before dinner.