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In this episode, I am going to teach you about two very similar but also very different words. These words can be very confusing. They can be confusing even to native English speakers.
在本期节目中，我将教大家两个非常相似但也非常不同的单词。这两个单词可能非常令人困惑。甚至连以英语为母语的人都会感到困惑。
The two words are lie and lay. Lie and lay. That's l-i-e and l-a-y. Lie and lay. Before I get to the really confusing part, let me just quickly explain what these two words mean.
这两个单词是lie和lay。在讲到真正令人困惑的部分之前，让我先快速解释一下这两个单词的意思。
Let's start with lie. Lie means "to put yourself in a flat position." Or it can also mean "to be in a flat position." That's why you can lie in bed, or you can lie on the sofa, or you can lie on the beach.
让我们从lie开始。Lie的意思是“让自己处于平躺的位置”。或者也可以表示“处于平躺的位置”。这就是为什么你可以说lie in bed，或者lie on the sofa，或者lie on the beach。
Lay is very similar. But instead of putting yourself in a flat position, you are putting something else in a flat position, or you are putting something else on a surface.
Lay非常相似。但是你不是让自己处于平躺的位置，而是将其他东西处于平躺的位置，或者将其他东西放在表面上。
And that's why you can say something like, "I will lay the books on the table." Or "I will lay the baby in the bed."
这就是为什么你可以说“I will lay the books on the table.”或者“I will lay the baby in the bed.”
When we use lie, we are talking about what someone does to himself or herself. And when we use lay, we are talking about what someone does to something else.
当我们使用lie时，我们谈论的是某人对自己做了什么。当我们使用lay时，我们谈论的是某人对其他事物做了什么。
One way we can describe this difference is by saying that lie is an intransitive verb. That means it does not use a direct object. And lay is a transitive verb. It always has a direct object.
我们可以描述这种差异的一种方式是说lie是不及物动词。这意味着它不使用直接宾语。而lay是及物动词。它总是有一个直接宾语。
You might find that confusing already. And if you do, I think you're going to find this next part even more confusing.
你可能已经觉得这很混乱了。如果你这样做了，我想你会发现下一部分会更加混乱。
Because when we look at the past tense forms of the verbs lie and lay, things can get confusing. The past tense form of lie is lay. Lay. The past tense form of lie is lay. L-i-e.
因为当我们看动词lie和lay的过去时形式时，事情会变得混乱。lie的过去时形式是lay。
That is spelled the same as the present tense form of that other word, lay. And so, in the present tense, we could say, "I often lie on the sofa." I often lie on the sofa.
它的拼写与另一个词lay的现在时形式相同。因此，在现在时中，我们可以说“I often lie on the sofa.”我经常躺在沙发上。
But, in the past tense, we would say, "When I was a kid, I often lay on the sofa." When I was a kid, I often lay on the sofa. Because the past tense of the verb lie is lay.
但是，在过去时中，我们会说“When I was a kid, I often lay on the sofa.”当我还是个孩子的时候，我经常躺在沙发上。因为动词lie的过去式是lay。
Okay. Well then, what is the past tense of the verb lay? The past tense of the verb lay is laid. And that is spelled l-a-i-d. Laid. "Yesterday, I laid the clean clothes on the bed." Yesterday, I laid the clean clothes on the bed. The past tense of lay is laid.
动词lay的过去式是什么？动词lay的过去式是laid。“Yesterday, I laid the clean clothes on the bed.”昨天，我把干净的衣服放在床上。lay的过去式是laid。
And now, just to make things even more confusing, let me tell you about the other forms of these two verbs.
现在，为了让事情变得更加混乱，让我告诉你这两个动词的其他形式。
This is the form that you will see in these so-called perfect tenses: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.
这是你将在所谓的完成时中看到的形式：现在完成时、过去完成时和将来完成时。
The present perfect form of the verb lie is lain. Lain. L-a-i-n. "I have often lain on this sofa." I have often lain on this sofa.
动词lie的现在完成时形式是 lain。“I have often lain on this sofa.”我经常躺在这张沙发上。
I should tell you, I don't think you will hear very many people use the word lain. I think maybe lain is going away. I think maybe people use a different form for those perfect tenses of the verb lie.
我应该告诉你，我认为你不会听到很多人使用lain这个词。我认为lain可能正在消失。我认为人们可能对动词lie的完成时态使用不同的形式。
I think you will often hear people use the word laid for the present perfect, the past perfect, and the future perfect of lie. "I have often laid on the sofa."
我认为你会经常听到人们使用laid这个词来表示lie的现在完成时、过去完成时和将来完成时。“I have often laid on the sofa.”
And finally, the perfect tenses of the verb lay use the word laid. "I have laid the books on the table." I have laid the books on the table.
最后，动词lay的完成时态使用laid这个词。“I have laid the books on the table.”我把书放在桌子上了。
Now, let me tell you a little trick. If you really have trouble remembering these different forms, if these two words seem too similar, and it is just so confusing that you would like a different word to use, I have good news for you:
现在，让我告诉你一个小技巧。如果你真的很难记住这些不同的形式，如果这两个词看起来太相似，而且太让人困惑了，你想用不同的词，我有个好消息要告诉你：
I think often, instead of using the word lay when we are talking about objects—when we are talking about putting objects down—you can often use the word set.
我认为，当我们谈论物体时——当我们谈论放下物体时——你经常可以使用set这个词，而不是使用lay这个词。
In other words, "I will set the books on the table. Yesterday I set the books on the table. I have often set books on this table."
换句话说，“I will set the books on the table. Yesterday I set the books on the table. I have often set books on this table.”
One good thing about this word is it doesn't change in those different tenses. It's always set. Set. And the word put works the same way. It's always the word put.
这个词的一个好处是它在那些不同的时态中不会改变。它总是set。put这个词也是一样。它总是put。
So, instead of using the word lay with an object, I think you can usually use the words set or put. That is lie and lay, a very confusing topic that I think you should know.
我认为你通常可以使用set或put来代替lay这个词与宾语连用。以上就是lie和lay的用法，一个非常令人困惑的话题，我认为你应该知道。
