Lay x 2

The difference between lay and lie confuses almost everyone. It sometimes makes me pause and think.

Let’s focus on lay. There are two ways to use it:

#1 Lay (present tense; transitive verb, takes an object) = to place something down

Examples:

I’ll lay your iPad on the table.

Why did you lay the bowling ball on my foot?

#2 Lay (past tense of lie; intransitive verb, doesn’t take an object) = to recline; to rest on a surface

Examples:

Carlo lay in the sun too long and now he has a sunburn.

The banana lay in the cage all day but the monkey never ate it.

So when you lay your head on the pillow tonight, I hope you lie in bed, never confused about using lay or lay again. Sweet dreams.

Fill it Up

I know several people who drink soda every day, with lunch, dinner, or any time. I have a colleague who can’t begin the day without her Coca-Cola for breakfast.

A widespread American notion of perceived value is the free re-fill: restaurants charge you for your first glass of soda and your second, third, fourth, etc. is no charge---free! It’s great! Because restaurants make a lot of money selling beverages, everyone is happy. Through the English conversations I have, I understand this isn’t very typical in Italy.

I rarely drink soda pop so free re-fills don’t interest me. Actually I feel like I’m paying too much if I only drink one glass, but we all pay too much, even if we have four re-fills. How much do you want and how much can you drink? This guy will tell you, but I don’t recommend following his example.

ps: He is a fictional character ;)

Say Something

Say or Tell. Which one do you use? The title has a clue.

Say and tell can be confusing for an English learner. In my English conversations with Italian students, I hear this everyday: He said me; I said her; She said him; I said you. It’s incorrect. You always say something (to someone) or you tell someone something: He told me; I told her; She told him; I told you.

Claudio told Paolo about a karaoke bar.

He said that he loves karaoke.

Paolo said, “I’m a terrible singer, but I sing better after a couple of beers.”

Claudio told Paolo to meet him at 10 o’clock.

He said that the cover charge is free if you arrive by 10 o'clock.

Paolo told Claudio that he will drive in his father's new, luxurious, shiny, deluxe Ferrari convertible sports car.

Paolo said, “He is working out of town and, besides, it will impress the ladies. ”

“O.K,” Claudio said, “let’s go!”

So if you think you want to use “She said him to meet her at the karaoke bar”, you really want to use this:

• She told him to meet her at the karaoke bar (she told someone something). OR
• She said to him, “Meet me at the karaoke bar.” (direct quote: she said something to someone). OR
• She said that she’ll meet him at the karaoke bar (reported speech: she said something). OR
• She told him that she’ll meet him at the karaoke bar (reported speech: she told him something)

Say Something (To Someone) OR Tell Someone Something.

What can you say about that?