What is the past tense of "lay"?
What is the past tense of lay?
By: Teacher Sierra from AmazingTalker
Today, I will teach you the past tense of lay and how to conjugate the verb. The verb conjugation is very easy!
Lay is the present tense verb, and it means to place or to put something down. Lay is also used when certain animals (birds, insects, reptiles, or amphibians) produce eggs.
The past tense of lay is laid. This is the verb conjugation:
Verb Conjugation Past Tense: Laid | |
Singular | Plural |
I laid | We laid |
You laid | You two or you all laid |
He, she, or it laid | They laid |
Let’s look at some examples.
Examples
Example 1
The chicken laid some eggs.
Example 2
*He laid his head down on the pillow.
Note: Laid down is a phrasal verb in the past tense.
Example 3
The girl laid her head on the boy’s shoulder.
Example 4
They laid the tools on the floor.
Example 5
*The newspaper company laid off many workers.
Note: Laid off is a phrasal verb in the past tense. In this case, laid off means to end, quit, or stop workers’ employment.
Example 6
We laid our pencils down on the desk after we finished our test.
Example 7
I closed my notebook and laid it aside.
Conclusion
Conjugating lay into past tense is very easy. You will only use laid.
Practice Time
Can you think of a sentence using the word “laid”?
The past tense of to lay is laid, and the past participle of to lay is laid. The past participle of to lay takes the helping verb “has,” “have,” or “had.”
EXAMPLES
1. was told to lay the book down.
I laid it down as I have laid other books down.
I am laying more books down now.
The past tense of "lay" is "laid"
The third-person singular simple present indicative form of lay is lays.
The present participle of lay is laying.
The past participle of lay is laid.
How do we say "to lay" in the past ?
An irregular verb
First, let me remind you that the verb lay is irregular. So, do not say "layed" (never say that, in fact)
Instead of, we say "laid".
I'm going to give you the past participle now because we say "laid" (as well yeah)
Lay, laid, laid
To summarise, we say "lay, laid, laid". Easy, right ?
Past tense of lay, most people don't use this correctly.
The past tense of lay is laid.
Ex. I lay down at 3:00pm every day. Yesterday I laid down at 2:00pm because I had a headache.
Now your turn with these two words:
I ___________ down on the bed. (Present tense)
We _____________ in the sand at the beach yesterday (Past tense)
So remember to to use laid for the past tense of lay!
What is the past tense of lay?
Lay is an irregular verb: the past tense and past particle is laid.
I laid in bed too long this morning; I was late for work again.
I have laid flowers at my father's grave every week since his death.
Laid should be used when using past simple or perfect tenses.
What is the past tense of 'lay'?
The past tense of 'lay' is LAID.
To lay something is to put it down, flat on a surface, especially when it is done so gently or carefully. Hens lay eggs, and you can lay a baby in his crib. You can also lay your books on the table.
'Lie down' or 'lay down'?
A common mistake is when people say, "I'm exhausted. I'm going to lay down for a while." Instead, you should say, "I'm exhausted. I'm going to lie down for a while." Remember, you are not a hen. Hence, you lie down, not lay down.
'Lay' vs 'lie'
It's pretty easy to confuse these two verbs because of their past and past participle forms.
May this serve as a quick guide:
lay - laid - laid
lie - lay - lain
Lay is a regular verb, the past simple form is laid and not layed.
Laid or Layed?
The past tense of lay is laid. The past participle of to lay takes a helping verb such as has, had or have.
Did the chicken lay an egg this morning?
Yes, she laid a few eggs this morning.
Confusion Over?
Past tense of lay is laid.
The past tense of lay is laid. The past tense of lie however is lay.
To tell a lie becomes lied.
⭐ The past tense of "lay" is laid.
Past Tense Verbs ⏩ Lay - laid
This word is a verb which means that an animal has had an egg or eggs.
Remember it could be a chicken or perhaps a reptile, like a snake or crocodile!
For example:
✅ Present Tense:
The chickens on the farm will lay lots of eggs.
✅Past Tense: Last week, the chickens on the farm laid many eggs.
Conclusion
This is an irregular past tense verb.
Many animals can lay eggs, Google the verb and find out! 🏆
What is the past tense of lay?
What's the past tense of lay? Here's the word you're looking for.
Answer The past tense of lay is laid. The third-person singular simple present indicative form of lay is lays. The present participle of lay is laying. The past participle of lay is laid. |