# How do you correctly spell "lieing", as in...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 5, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885 "2001-04-05T05:29:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/b9e5f3/32.png) [@50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/1 "2001-04-05T05:29:25Z")

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“lieing” in a ditch, “lieing” in bed, low “lieing” valley.

been writing an essay, and wanted to use “Low Lieing Valley” in a sentance, but cant find the correct spelling anywere, and am stumped, along with a few others.

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/2 "2001-04-05T05:33:17Z")

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Lying

I would invest in a better dictionary.

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**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/3 "2001-04-05T05:36:07Z")

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I could tell you I lived in a low lying valley, but if I did, I’d be lying.

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**Author:** ![50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/b9e5f3/32.png) [@50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/4 "2001-04-05T06:11:42Z")

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thanks, yeah I should get a better dictionary, the one I have is from 1969, no joke.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/5 "2001-04-05T12:15:11Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by 50¢ \*  
> \*\*thanks, yeah I should get a better dictionary, the one I have is from 1969, no joke. \*\*

They spelled it the same way in 1969. I know because it’s in my 1969 dictionary. You should look under the infinitive form (“lie”), and usually the past tense (“lay”), past participle (“lain”) and present participle (“lying”) will be listed right after it.

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**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-correctly-spell-lieing-as-in/60885/6 "2001-04-05T14:33:30Z")

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The verbs _lie_ (to tell an untruth), _lie_ (to recline), and _lay_ (to place [something]) are, it seems to me, the most commonly confused and misconjugated verbs in the English language. I’ll attempt to clarify their differences here.

**lie:** to tell an untruth

She lies to her mother. (present)  
He lied to me. (past)  
You have lied to me before. (past participle)  
I am lying. (present participle)

**lie:** to recline (Note: This verb is _intransitive_, meaning it does not take an object. In other words, the action of the verb is not applied to anything. Compare _lay._)

He frequently lies in bed until noon. (present)  
She lay on the beach all day. (past)  
The dog has lain in front of the fire for hours. (past participle)  
Why are you lying in the street? (present participle)

**lay:** to place [something] (Note: This verb is _transitive,_ meaning it takes an object. In other words, the action of the verb is applied to something. The critical difference compared to _lie_ is this: You lie on the bed, but you lay your body on the bed.)

Lay the baby on the blanket. (present)  
He laid the book on the counter. (past)  
She has laid her knitting aside for the moment. (past participle)  
She is laying the magazines on the table. (present participle)

Oddly enough, these verbs were clarified for me when I was learning German, where the words are different enough that I could see, er, the differences. Having to learn that distinction in German helped my English skills as well!