Lay, Lie or Lie? How to Use Them Correctly with "Visual Aid" ?

Is there anyone who is not confused with the proper usage of the verbs "lay" and "lie"? I know I am from time to time. So that's why I developed a "visual aid" to help myself remember what is what. It works for me and I hope it'll be helpful for you as well.

1) Lay means to "place," or "put" and it is a transitive verb. That is, it needs an OBJECT to make sense. You always lay SOMETHING.

VISUAL AID: Imagine the letter "a" in "Lay" as someone bending over to place a heavy object on the ground.

"Our engineers will lay the foundation of our new headquarters building."

Both the past and perfect tense of "Lay" is "Laid." Lay-Laid-Laid (1-2-2).

"Our engineers have laid the foundation of our new headquarters building."

2) Lie, an intransitive verb that does not need an object, means to "recline" or "remain."

VISUAL AID: Imagine the DOT on the letter "i" in "Lie" as the head of someone resting/reclining on a couch or bed.

But watch out -- the PAST tense of lie is also lay! That's why it can get pretty confusing.

"The puppy would not lay still even for a second!"

So when you see "lay," you have to figure out whether it is to "put/place" or "recline/remain" from the context.

However the perfect tense of "Lie" is "Lain." Lie-Lay-Lain (1-2-3).

"The overturned truck had lain in the ditch the whole night."

3) Lie has yet ANOTHER meaning, as you know – telling an untruth.

Its past and perfect tenses are "Lied" and "Lied." Lie-Lied-Lied (1-2-2). Usually it's easy to tell this form of "lie" from the other.

("Puppy lied." Correct? No. Puppies don't talk. It should be "Puppy lay.")

Is it UP or DOWN?

News Item 1:

"Bookstore Sales Continue Slide

Retail sales at bookstores in February 2007 were down as compared to the previous February, according to preliminary estimates recently released by the Bureau of the Census. In addition, the Bureau adjusted both January 2006 and January 2007 figures upward, but the end result was that bookstore sales decreased by 1.4 percent this past January..."

News Item 2:

"Did You Know...

Of the 172 bookstores that participated in both the ABACUS 2006 and ABACUS 2005 surveys, 104 stores (or 60 percent of the total) reported an increase in sales between 2005 and 2006. The average sales increase was more than 10 percent. Booksellers who would like to receive a customized set of tools that can be used to evaluate their store's financial performance can join the 2007 ABACUS survey via an enhanced web form now..."

(Source: The same issue of “Bookselling This Week,” a Publication of American Booksellers Association, April 26, 2007)

Photoshop biz on NYT

New York Times ran an interesting article on folks who touch up old photos with Photoshop and offer "age progression" service -- that is, you give them your baby's photo and they let you see how he or she will look at age 70!

Cool, huh ? :-))

Click here to read the article

Do you have to go online?

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of small businesses are not online.

Here are the official figures published by the National Small Business Association for small business that do NOT have a web site:

Service -- 57%
Retail -- 39%
Professional services -- 33%
Construction -- 67%
Manufacturing -- 32%

GNC Catalog -- Weak Cover

GNC is a great company. I buy my vitamins from GNC and own a discount card as well.

However, I was disappointed by their latest direct mail catalog.

Issue? Very weak lead with no urgency, no specificity, no unique message.

OUR MOST POPULAR SPECIALTY SUPPLEMENTS... (that's it?)

Why waste the precious front cover by just repeating the obvious?

(And look how static and rectangular all the graphic elements are. There is no movement here to match the "energy" we are supposed to get from these wonderful products...)

Where are the benefits?

Why should I get excited about and buy Triflex? CoQ-10? or Fish Body Oil?

This is a perfect example of a catalog cover gone to waste.

But it doesn't mean that the rest of the catalog is equally disappointing. Far from it.

Here is what I really loved on page 2 -- MEET THE GNC MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD.

This is a great idea. It immediately projects autohority and confidence in GNC products.