Past Tense of Lay | Definition, Explanation & Examples
The past tense of the verb lay, meaning “place something in a horizontal position,” is laid. Laid is both the simple past tense form of the verb and the past participle.
The simple past tense is used to describe actions that have taken place in the past. The past participle is used for forming the perfect tenses and the passive voice.
Lay is a transitive verb, so it always takes a direct object. It can also be used figuratively (e.g., “The principal laid down the law at the start of the new year”) or more abstractly (e.g., “After a full day in the studio, we had laid down only two tracks”).
| Laid as simple past tense | Laid as past participle |
|---|---|
| I laid the clothes out on the bed, ready for the morning.
Exhausted, Marie finally laid the baby down to sleep. The camp leader laid out the rules for us. |
The free-range hens had laid many more eggs than the caged birds.
The pet rabbit was laid to rest with full honors. The paving had been laid in a single day. |
Past tense of lay
The simple past tense form of lay is laid.
The exhausted soldiers laid down their weapons and emerged from their foxholes.
I watched in awe as the workers laid the stones expertly to make a sturdy dry-stone wall.
Past participle of lay
The past participle of lay is laid.
The storm had blown the trees down, and they looked like a giant had laid them down carefully in rows.
Everyone knew what was expected, as the rules had been laid out in advance.
Remember, if you are laying something down, then the past tense and past participle are both laid.
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using lay and lie correctly.
Frequently asked questions about the past tense of lay
- Is layed a word?
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No, “layed” isn’t a word in standard English. The past tense of the verb lay is laid. Lay is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tenses. It is a transitive verb and always needs a direct object to make sense.
Laid is the simple past tense form of lay and is used to describe actions that have already taken place (e.g., “Colleen laid out a pencil and paper pad for each delegate”).
Laid is also the past participle, used for perfect tenses and the passive voice (e.g., “The cable had been laid carefully where no one would trip over it”).
You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you are using the correct past tense of lay.
- Is it layed off or laid off?
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When someone loses their job, or is made redundant, then they are laid off. “Layed” isn’t a word in standard English.
Lay is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tenses. Laid is both the simple past tense form and past participle of lay.
The QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you ensure that you are using the past tense of lay correctly.
- Is it laid out or layed out?
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The past tense of lay out is laid out. “Layed out” is not correct in standard English because laid is the past tense of lay.
Laid out means “spread out,” “present,” or (informally) “knock out, render unconscious.”
The QuillBot Grammar Checker lets you make sure you are using the correct past tense of “lay out.”
- Is it laid down or layed down?
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“Layed down” is not correct in standard English. If a person is laying something down, the correct past tense is laid down because laid is the past tense of lay.
- Luke laid the pane of glass down very carefully.
- Steve had laid down the first layer of concrete yesterday.
If the person is lying themselves down, then the correct spelling is lay down (simple past) or lain down (past participle).
- Nikita lay down and fell asleep immediately.
- Pam had lain down ages ago but still couldn’t sleep.
You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you are using the correct verb and past tense form.
