bjornolf wrote:
I still get confused when trying to conjugate the various versions of "lie" with the lying and the laid vs. layed vs. lied vs. lay and all the other ones. I've looked up the rules a million times, but by the time it becomes an issue, I've forgotten again.
"Lay" requires a direct object, whereas "lie" does not. That is, you can lay
something down, but you cannot simply "lay down." Rather, you would
lie down.
Past participles and such, however, are indeed confusing. The simple past conjugation of lie is "lay": I lay down for a nap yesterday (weird, I know, but that's the right way). Similarly, the past participle is "lain": I had just lain down for a nap when the dog started barking."
As with "dying" and "tying," you are
lying down, rather than
lieing down.
To reference your other words above, "layed" is not a word; the proper spelling is always and only "laid."
"Lied" only applies to telling untruths, as in, "I said I loved you, but I lied." (Why the hell did Michael Bolton come to mind first?) Again, you would never say, "I lied down." It should be, "I lay down."
This page does a pretty good job of explaining. Perhaps worth a bookmark:
http://web.ku.edu/~edit/lie.html