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She lay
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this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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Oh, I didn't realize you were using colloquial English there.
Actually, "lay" is the past tense of "lie," AND "lay" is a separate verb from "lie." Most people will incorrectly (for formal English anyway) confuse the two verbs, using transitive "lay" when they mean to be using the intransitive "lie." (E.g. "She lays down" is not a valid conjugation in formal English, and should be "She lies down." If she's putting something else down though, "She lays it down."
Here are the respective conjugation charts for both verbs, if you want:
In some regional or cultural dialects though, maybe it's all "lay?" I grew up with (and taught) more formal English but I do try to respect established differences in standard Englishes (as long as I'm aware of them). :)
I am quite familiar with the verbs. Thanks.
My original joke was based on the assumption that "She lay" was intended to be in the present tense (and why wouldn't it be?) and therefore a humorous use of colloquial English (in place of "she lays", possibly invoking African American English for humorous effect. We can argue about whether this is culturally sensitive.). The corresponding correction would therefore be "She lie", rather than the grammatically standard "She lies".