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She lay on the beach while her son splashed at the water's edge.

or

She laid on the beach while her son splashed at the water's edge.

Grammarly is indicating that both are correct, but Word Power says that the first is correct.

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  • 2
    There is a related question with a good answer at Help using lay and lie.
    – Conrado
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 20:48
  • @Jason Bassford Lied?
    – Chaim
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 21:31
  • @Jason Bassford It's only lied in the other sense of the word: to fib!
    – Old Brixtonian
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:23
  • I lie on the beach everyday. Yesterday, I lay on the beach for two hours. Recently, I have lain on the beach for hours on end. In short: lie, lay, lain.
    – Lambie
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:53
  • 1
    More help: What is the difference between “lay” and “lie”?.
    – livresque
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 0:15

1 Answer 1

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Your first sentence is correct: your second is incorrect.

Lay and Lie are two different verbs. In everyday spoken English they regularly get mixed up, perhaps because both may be followed by the word on, and because - annoyingly - the past tense of lie is lay.

Lay is a transitive verb. That means it takes a direct object.

I go in and lay the papers on the desk.
He is laying the table for dinner.
She laid it yesterday.  
When he had laid the table he left.

Lie is an intransitive verb. It doesn't take a direct object. It is like yawn. You don't yawn anything and you don't lie anything.

I lie on the bed, reading.
She was lying on the lawn.
She lay there all day.
When he had lain there for an hour he got up.
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  • So why is one right and the other wrong, in OP's example sentence?
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:31
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    @Hot Licks Because it's the wrong verb. It should be (the past tense of) the verb to lie, not the (past tense of) the verb to lay. The verb 'to lay' has 'laid' as its past tense, and it always takes a direct object. She laid WHAT on the beach? An egg? (Hmm. Actually that is possible. She might be a hen. I don't know the context!) Did YOU give me the -1 btw?
    – Old Brixtonian
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:42
  • So you're saying that "lay" is wrong?? The first sentence is INcorrect??
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:45
  • No! As I said in my answer, "the past tense of lie is lay." I lie on my bed. Yesterday too I lay on my bed.
    – Old Brixtonian
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 22:50
  • 2
    This answer is correct and the OP's second sentence is a mistake. She lay on the beach while etc. Simple past.But, the present perfect is lain. She has lain on the damn beach all day. The past perfect is also lain: He had lain there for two hours when his friends showed up. This answer should not be downvoted!
    – Lambie
    Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 23:01

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