• LostWon@lemmy.ca
      5·
      15 days ago

      *It’d be “lies” for present tense, but “lay” is correct for past.

      • jbrains@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        15 days ago

        Yes. It didn’t sound past tense in my head, but that certainly fits.

        And no: “she lie” would be a colloquial present tense assuming that “she lay” was a similar colloquial conjugation of the verb “to lay” as commonly used in place of “to lie”.

        • LostWon@lemmy.ca
          1·
          14 days ago

          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). :)

          • jbrains@sh.itjust.works
            1·
            14 days ago

            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”.