'to lay down' and to 'to lie down'
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Dimcl
Senior Member
Canadian English
If you type "lay" and "lie" in the dictionary look-up, you will find a number of previous threads on this subject.
The difference is that "to lie" is intransitive and "to lay" is transitive.
Thus:
I lay the book on the table. I laid the book on the table yesterday. I have laid many books on many tables in the past.
I lie on the sofa. I lay on the sofa yesterday. I have lain on many sofas in the past.
The use of "down" makes no difference to the meaning and use of the two verbs.
ED. Yes, I forgot to mention: there are many threads on this subject. Thanks for the reminder, Dimcl.
Thus:
I lay the book on the table. I laid the book on the table yesterday. I have laid many books on many tables in the past.
I lie on the sofa. I lay on the sofa yesterday. I have lain on many sofas in the past.
The use of "down" makes no difference to the meaning and use of the two verbs.
ED. Yes, I forgot to mention: there are many threads on this subject. Thanks for the reminder, Dimcl.
TommyGun
Senior Member
Russian
Hi all,
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
That's from "Happy New Year", by ABBA
Why did they use "lay" here, not "lie"?
Consider the following piece of lyrics:
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
That's from "Happy New Year", by ABBA
Why did they use "lay" here, not "lie"?
JustKate
Moderate Mod
English - US
"Lay down" is often used with "die," for some reason. It's not strictly correct, but it is idiomatic.
sdgraham
Senior Member
USA English
It's just a common error. They're not even native English speakers.
pob14
Senior Member
American English
Depending upon your degree of pedantry, the answer is:
1) The members of ABBA were not native English speakers.
2) Songs don't really need to obey the rules of grammar.
3) 84.683% of English speakers don't bother with the "lie/lay" distinction.
1) The members of ABBA were not native English speakers.
2) Songs don't really need to obey the rules of grammar.
3) 84.683% of English speakers don't bother with the "lie/lay" distinction.
Codyfied
Senior Member
AmerEnglish
The term "lay down" is used improperly in the case of the ABBA song. But keep in mind that the term "lay down and die" has also become a frequently used term and could even be considered an idiom nowadays to mean "give up."
Remember in songs, the songwriter also must often bend phrases and words in a way perhaps not always proper in grammar but more "conversational" to convey a certain feel or mood.
In the example you give, the word "lay" is also an "inside rhyme" with the previous line's "May". This helps to break up the frequent rhyming sounds of try,might, die and I, so "lay" would be the better choice regarding writing the song.
So its more about taking poetic license with songwriting and not so much about being grammatically correct.
<< Deleted. Please read Rule 6 >>
Remember in songs, the songwriter also must often bend phrases and words in a way perhaps not always proper in grammar but more "conversational" to convey a certain feel or mood.
In the example you give, the word "lay" is also an "inside rhyme" with the previous line's "May". This helps to break up the frequent rhyming sounds of try,might, die and I, so "lay" would be the better choice regarding writing the song.
So its more about taking poetic license with songwriting and not so much about being grammatically correct.
<< Deleted. Please read Rule 6 >>
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