(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- "I'm going to lay down and take a nap," the man said to his wife.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 lie that one on me. I know you鈥檙e lying,鈥� she sternly replied. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e never laid down for a nap in your life. What are you really going to do?鈥�

Eeek. Doesn鈥檛 anyone know the difference between 鈥渓ay鈥� and 鈥渓ie鈥� anymore? Does anyone even care?

And furthermore, should we care?

Today鈥檚 usage of 鈥渓ie鈥� and 鈥渓ay鈥� is 鈥渢otally arbitrary,鈥� said Elly van Gelderen, professor of English. 鈥淭he Oxford English Dictionary 鈥� Samuel Johnson鈥檚 dictionary 鈥� decided on these forms, and I think we should get rid of them. I don鈥檛 see them as errors, just that things are changing.鈥�

The 鈥渃orrect,鈥� or 鈥減rescriptive,鈥� usage of lie and lay seem to be moving farther (or should that be further?) away from people鈥檚 conscience, as a careful reading of current newspapers illustrates.

Just ask the two people who uttered these sentences:

"You don鈥檛 get a choice really. You can lay there and you can die, or you can get up and get going again.鈥�

鈥淭his is just money laying on the table that companies haven鈥檛 gotten around to doing.鈥�

And, many of van Gelderen鈥檚 students don鈥檛 know the difference. As part of a 10-question grammar quiz, she asked the students to choose the right usage for lay and lie 鈥� 鈥渁nd only two students got all 10 sentences right,鈥� she said.

(Lesson: 鈥楲ay鈥� is a transitive irregular verb 鈥� it needs an object: 鈥淭he chicken lays an egg every day.鈥� 鈥楲ie鈥� is an intransitive irregular verb that does not need an object: 鈥淚 lie down regularly.鈥�)

And then there鈥檚 the quandary of 鈥渨ho鈥� and 鈥渨hom,鈥� which, van Gelderen says, has been around since the time of Shakespeare.

(Lesson: 'Who' is subject and 'whom' is the object of a preposition or verb.)

Speaking of Shakespeare, the dramatist actually wrote this sentence in 鈥淭he Merchant of Venice鈥�: 鈥淎ll debts are cleared between you and I.鈥� (Another subject-object conundrum.)

But if you read a modern version of the play, you鈥檒l find that it has been changed to 鈥渂etween you and me.鈥�

(Shakespeare鈥檚 spelling of 鈥渃leared鈥� as 鈥渃leerd鈥� in 鈥淭he Merchant of Venice鈥� also has been 鈥渇ixed,鈥� and there are numerous other examples of how his language has been 鈥渃leaned up.鈥�)

A new wrinkle in grammar is the increasing use of 鈥済oes鈥� instead of 鈥渟ays,鈥� as in the following exchange:

鈥淗e goes, 鈥榊ou are so last-year. Why are you wearing those ripped-up jeans?鈥� Then I go, 鈥楤ecause I just fell and torn them.鈥欌€�

This use of 鈥済o鈥� is 鈥渜uotative,鈥� van Gelderen said. 鈥淭he speaker will say 鈥榞o鈥� or 鈥檊oes鈥� then go on to quote someone.鈥滿any people are self-conscious about how they put words together, particularly if they know they are speaking with a grammar expert such as van Gelderen.

If she happens to mention, say at the dentist, that she teaches grammar, the usual reaction is: "'Oh, my grammar is terrible.' Therefore I never say that I teach grammar,鈥� she said.

So why bother learning the rules of grammar? Why not just let it all go and say, 鈥淢e sees you鈥� instead of 鈥淚 see you鈥�?

鈥淲e stick to the rules because it makes us sound educated,鈥� van Gelderen said. 鈥淭o some extent it does empower people to learn grammar. It鈥檚 important in our society.鈥�

And, she added, though grammar does subtly change, 鈥渢oo many people have a vested interest in keeping it the way it is.鈥�

To say it another way, people want to see things stay like they are. (Or should it be as they are?)

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Pop Quiz:  See if you can use the appropriate form of `lie鈥� or `lay鈥� in the following sentences.

Choices: lie, lay, laid, lay, laying, lying, lain, laid

1. Did you want to .................. on the couch?

2. Did you ..........鈥our pen down?

3. Earlier today, I ................. down some towels to absorb the rain.

4. Last night, she ................. awake for a long time.

5. Have you been ................. brick long?

6. She was ................. on the couch.

7. I have ................... in the sun all day.

8. They have ................... down their arms.

 

 

 

Answers: 1. lie 2. lay 3. laid 4. lay 5. laying 6. lying 7. lain 8. laid