LIE or LAY

Infinitive	to lie	I hate to lie to people.
Present	lie (we lie, she lies...)	Andrew lies about his past. (his past = his life in the past)
Past	lied	Grace is sorry she lied to you about her age.
Past Participle	lied	Kevin has lied before, and the judge never believes him anymore.
ing ending	lying	Lying to your boss can get you fired.

TO LIE: 2) to recline

Infinitive	to lie	I hate to lie down (to rest) in the middle of the day.
Present	lie (I lie, he lies...)	He lies on the couch watching television for hours.
Past	lay	Adam lay on floor to play with his son's toy trains.
Past Participle	lain	She has lain around (resting and wasting time) for weeks, refusing to do anything.
ing ending	lying	Amanda and Noah were lying on the ground watching an anthill.

TO LAY: to put or place something on, around, out (lay is transitive. That means it takes an object)

Infinitive	to lay	Justin told me to lay the money for the tip on the table.
Present	lay (We lay... you lay...)	Brian always lays out his clothes for work the night before. (take clothes out of the closet to have them ready; to prepare something some time before the moment that you will need it)
Past	laid	Evelyn laid her textbooks on the table.
Past Participle	laid	We have laid the brick for the new sidewalk, and now we're ready to lay the bricks for the back patio.
ing ending	laying	She was laying her car keys on the table when the phone rang.

NOTE: to lay is also used for the eggs of animals, e.g., birds, fish, etc. "The bluebird laid four eggs."

**The plural of brick is brick or bricks. Both are correct.

TO SIT or TO SET?

TO SIT: to be seated or come to a seated position

Infinitive	to sit	Andrea prefers to sit at her desk when she studies.
Present	sit (you sit, he sits...)	Nathan always sits when he gets a chance, because he has to stand at work for hours.
Past	sat	Jennifer sat patiently, waiting to be called for her interview.
Past Participle	sat	We have sat together talking many a time (often).
ing ending	sitting	David and Anna are sitting just outside. Please ask them to come in. (just outside, or right outside = near the entrance)

NOTE: to babysit (to take care of someone's children) is conjugated the same way as to sit

1) TO SET: to put or place (takes an object)

Infinitive

to set

1) Tell him to set his glass down on the floor, instead of on the table.

2) When you fix the broken leg on that chair, allow the glue to set for 24 hours.

Present

1) set (they set, you set...)

2) set (only used with it)

1) He always sets the hammer down on the table, instead of on the floor.

2) Gelatin dessert sets in four hours, if it's in the refrigerator.

Past

1) set

2) set

1) They set the heavy couch down on the floor after they carried it in from the truck.

2) Did the glue on the desk set yet? Yes, the glue on the desktop set, but the glue on the leg didn't set at all. (the glue is still in liquid form; not set; not hard)

Past Participle

1) set

2) set

1) They have set the couch in front of the window in order to make more space in the living room.

2) We have been waiting for two hours, but that "instant glue" has not set yet.

ing ending

setting

1) While the butler was **setting out* the wine glasses, the maid was arranging flowers for the party.

2) Is the table ready to use now? No, the glue is still setting. (becoming firm)

*There are many, many meanings for the word set. If you look in a dictionary, you will find 33 different definitions for it. Sometimes the word set is used alone. Sometimes it's used with out or on after it.

RISE or RAISE?

RISE: to ascend, to move up physically, or in position in a company; to get out of bed; to move from a sitting position to a standing position

Infinitive	to rise	The bread dough has to rise before it can be baked.
Present	rise (I rise, he rises...)	James rises (awakens and gets out of bed) early most mornings, in order to have time to gather the eggs the chickens had laid the night before.
Past	rose	Emily rose from her chair gracefully. (formal speech) She got up from her chair. (everyday conversation)
Past Participle	risen	In the 15 years he's been with the firm, Nicholas has risen from being a mail clerk, to being the president of the company. (to rise in position in a company)
ing ending	rising	The river is rising, and the weather station on the radio is warning us about possible floods.

RAISE: to cause to rise; to lift something; to grow an agricultural product, to breed animals; to teach/take care of a child from birth to adulthood

Infinitive	to raise	Mandy has to raise the flag in front of the school every morning.
Present	raise (we raise, he raises...)	Benjamin raises pedigreed (pure bloodline) dogs and sells them for a very high price.
Past	raised	After the weight lifter raised the barbell above his head, he held it there for five hours. He set a world record.
Past Participle	raised	Albert has raised five children, and he's a single father. (no mother for the children)
ing ending	raising	Farmers in that area had been raising corn and soybeans for decades.

NOTE: When you talk about raising your hand, don't say raise UP, or rise up. We hear this error constantly among people learning English. The correct way to say it is to use the word raise, OR put up.

LIE or LAY?

TO LIE: 1) to tell a lie (also called " a falsehood"); to say something you know is not true

Infinitive

to lie

I hate to lie to people.

Present

lie (we lie, she lies...)

Andrew lies about his past. (his past = his life in the past)

Past

lied

Grace is sorry she lied to you about her age.

Past Participle

lied

Kevin has lied before, and the judge never believes him anymore.

ing ending

lying

Lying to your boss can get you fired.

TO LIE: 2) to recline

Infinitive

to lie

I hate to lie down (to rest) in the middle of the day.

Present

lie (I lie, he lies...)

He lies on the couch watching television for hours.

Past

lay

Adam lay on floor to play with his son's toy trains.

Past Participle

lain

She has lain around (resting and wasting time) for weeks, refusing to do anything.

ing ending

lying

Amanda and Noah were lying on the ground watching an anthill.

TO LAY: to put or place something on, around, out (lay is transitive. That means it takes an object)

Infinitive

to lay

Justin told me to lay the money for the tip on the table.

Present

lay (We lay... you lay...)

Brian always lays out his clothes for work the night before. (take clothes out of the closet to have them ready; to prepare something some time before the moment that you will need it)

Past

laid

Evelyn laid her textbooks on the table.

Past Participle

laid

We have laid the **brick for the new sidewalk, and now we're ready to lay the **bricks for the back patio.

ing ending

laying

She was laying her car keys on the table when the phone rang.

NOTE: to lay is also used for the eggs of animals, e.g., birds, fish, etc. "The bluebird laid four eggs."

**The plural of brick is brick or bricks. Both are correct.

TO SIT or TO SET?

TO SIT: to be seated or come to a seated position

Infinitive

to sit

Andrea prefers to sit at her desk when she studies.

Present

sit (you sit, he sits...)

Nathan always sits when he gets a chance, because he has to stand at work for hours.

Past

sat

Jennifer sat patiently, waiting to be called for her interview.

Past Participle

sat

We have sat together talking many a time (often).

ing ending

sitting

David and Anna are sitting just outside. Please ask them to come in. (just outside, or right outside = near the entrance)

NOTE: to babysit (to take care of someone's children) is conjugated the same way as to sit

1) TO SET: to put or place (takes an object)

Infinitive

to set

1) Tell him to set his glass down on the floor, instead of on the table.

2) When you fix the broken leg on that chair, allow the glue to set for 24 hours.

Present

1) set (they set, you set...)

1) He always sets the hammer down on the table, instead of on the floor.

2) Gelatin dessert sets in four hours, if it's in the refrigerator.

Past

1) set

We have laid the brick for the new sidewalk, and now we're ready to lay the bricks for the back patio.

1) While the butler was **setting out* the wine glasses, the maid was arranging flowers for the party.

There are many, many meanings for the word set.* If you look in a dictionary, you will find 33 different definitions for it. Sometimes the word set is used alone. Sometimes it's used with out or on after it.