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Practise with a grammar game

The verbs lie and lay are commonly confused. This is not because of the meaning of the verbs, but because of the way they are conjugated. Firstly, we will look at the meaning of the verbs:

The verb lie has two completely different meanings:

Lie: to be in or move into an esp. horizontal position on a surface:

			The mechanic was lying on his back underneath my car.
			The cat just loves to lie in front of the fire.
			She lay back in the dentist's chair and tried to relax.
			Lie still a moment, John.
			He lies awake at night, worrying.
			He lay down on the bed and cried.
			I usually lie down (=rest/sleep) for an hour after lunch
			Snow lay thickly over the fields.

Lie: to say something which is not true in order to deceive:

			Both witnesses lied to the police about what happened in the accident.
			Don't trust her - she's lying.
			I used to lie about my age but nowadays I don't bother.
			She lied her way past the guards.

The verb lay means to put (something) in esp. a flat or horizontal position, usually carefully or for a particular purpose:

			She laid the baby (down) in its cot.
			I'll lay your coats on the bed upstairs.
			Perhaps we should lay paper over the floor while we're decorating the room.
			She laid aside her book and went to answer the phone.
			The dog laid its ears back (=put them flat against its head) and howled.
			He laid down his knife and fork, saying he couldn't possibly eat any more.
			Lay the rug flat on the ground.
			There will be some disruption for the next few weeks while contractors lay a new cable/sewer.
			We're having a new carpet laid in the hall next week.
			They've been laying bricks (=making a wall with bricks) for two weeks and the first floor is already finished.

Next, the confusing part - the way the verbs are conjugated:

Lie (say something that is not true) is a regular verb:

Lie/lied/lied

			He is not to be trusted. He will always lie if he thinks it will help him.
			You lied to me, child!
			I have lied to him for his own sake.

Lie (be in a horizontal position) is an irregular verb:

Lie/lay/lain

			She usually lies down for a couple of hours after lunch.
			He lay perfectly still, hoping that they wouldn't find him.
			The jungle had lain undisturbed for thousands of years.

Lay (put something in position) is also an irregular verb:

Lay/laid/laid

			Jenny lays the table for dinner every day.
			We lay newspaper on the floor to stop the paint spoiling the wooden boards.
			The hens have laid eight eggs.

More information about lie and lay:

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/lay.html

Exercises/quizzes about lie and lay:

http://webster.commnet.edu/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/lie_lay_quiz.htm

http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/vm/lie-lay.html