Re: (In)transitive verbs

On Tue, Feb 10, 2004 at 04:06:23PM -0800, Costentin Cornomorus wrote:
> > lie vs. lay
>
> Another confusing verb! I personally try to avoid
> that pair whenever I can, because I confuse them.
That is a sign that the distinction is probably disappearing, and will no
doubt be gone in a few generations.  But for what it's worth:

to tell an untruth: lie, lied, have lied
to recline (intransitive): lie, lay, have lain
to cause to recline (transitive): lay, laid, have laid

The fact that "lay" is also a form of "lie" is the source of much of the
confusion.

-Mark

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