The difference between 'lie' and 'lay'

In nonstandard English, both British and American, the verb 'to lay' is often used for to lie. However, in standard English the two words are kept distinct.

'To lay' is transitive, having a direct object. The primary meaning of 'to lay' is to cause( something or someone) to lie down, to place something or someone in a reclining position.

• Kindly lay the fingerbowls on the table.
• Lay your head gently on my arm.

We have some phrases in which the verb to lay is used in an extended sense: 

• to lay the table
• Now I would like to lay me down to sleep.
• to lay the blame on someone.
• to lay a ghost. 

Exceptions:

The verb 'to lay' can also be used intransitively without any direct object.

• The hens won't lay eggs unless they get a warm place.
• The ships are laying aft.

So 'to lay' has become standard way of saying to lay eggs, and in the nautical sense it means to drift or float in certain position.

'To lie' means to be stationary, reclined on a flat surface, or to move into such a position. To lie is always used in the intransitive sense and takes no direct object.

The verbs 'to lay' and 'to lie' are often confused. The major reason for this confusion between the two verbs is that the past of 'to lie' is lay.

• The boys lay in the grass all morning.

However, the forms of two verbs are quite distinct:

lay, laid, laid.

lie, lay ,lain.

Please note that there is not any word like 'layed'---x

and we also know of a regular verb to lie meaning to tell a lie, which is not related to the verbs discussed here, and whose forms are lie, lied,lied, lying, lies.

We will discuss some nonstandard English usage of lie and lay:

• Lie it along the wall.---incorrect.
• Lay it along the wall.----correct.
• He laid down on the grass.---incorrect.
• He lay down on the grass.----correct.
• Please let it lay.----incorrect.
• Please let it lie.----correct.
• Lie the baby in the cradle.----incorrect.
• Lay the baby in the cradle.----correct.
• Victoria was laying on the grass.----incorrect.
• Victoria was lying on the grass.---correct.
• Your book has laid there for a month.----incorrect.
• Your book has lain there for a month.---correct.
• When were the railway lines lain by the company?----incorrect.
• When were the railway lines laid by the company?----correct.

'To lay' is a sexual innuendo, having origins in America, as in, to get laid, meaning 'to have sexual intercourse.

In American and British English, to lay has been replaced by the word 'put' which is considered to be standard nowadays.

• Please lay the bowls on the table.
• Please put the bowls on the table.