Sometimes I need a little mental sorbet. Something to just clear out my mental palate and what better than the comedy of people watching without leaving my cube. Enter overheardinminneapolis.com. A site for people to post the oddities they overhear on any given day anywhere they might hear it. Think of it as voyeurism for you ears.
And sometimes they just come to me... This is a transcript between my friend Kate and I at work. Some of our better work indeed. While longer than your typical overheard snippit, the whole chat lasted maybe three minutes.
Kristen Weingart... grammar check...
Kate Brown/MN... ah yes - my favorite subject
Kristen Weingart... was I lying in bed last night
Kristen Weingart... or was I laying in bed last night.
Kristen Weingart... (and i was neither fibbing or getting my grove on.. simply prone.)
Kate Brown/MN... wait...I know this one - there's a trick to it
Kate Brown/MN... LMAO
Kate Brown/MN... I think people lay and objects lie, but I'm not sure
Kate Brown/MN... checking though
Kate Brown/MN... except that my computer has ground to a halt...ah, here we go
Kate Brown/MN... it appears, though I have to check one more thing, that you lie in bed
Kate Brown/MN... you lay when your action has a recipient, or object, as the grammatical term would be
Kate Brown/MN... lie down
Kate Brown/MN... lay something on the counter
Kristen Weingart... excellent.
Kristen Weingart... so i was lying in bed?
Kate Brown/MN... which makes sense when you think of it in the carnal sense...it always has an object (usually the speaker)
Kate Brown/MN... yes, it is now confirmed
Kate Brown/MN... you were lying in bed
Kate Brown/MN... if you were laying in bed, we would need to know who the object was to satisfy the grammatical requirement
Kristen Weingart... wow... there are so may double entendre options it is staggering.
Kate Brown/MN... I know - it's hard to choose just one
Kristen Weingart... well i can let this one lay...
Kristen Weingart... as for lying in bed... I never fake it.
Kristen Weingart... LOL
Kate Brown/MN... no...you'd have to let it lie
Kate Brown/MN... LOL
Kristen Weingart... wait.. isn't the object satisfied by 'double entendre'
Kate Brown/MN... it is...but for the verb "to let," not the verb "to lie"
Kristen Weingart... thanks.
Kate Brown/MN... no problem
4 comments:
LMAO! So glad you have a grammar buddy at school!
I mean work. It's so early in the a.m. for me.
Should you ever be in a similar quandry at work, you could chedck out the Thrivent Stylebook on iThrive. (-:
See just how helpful it is ...
lay, lie
The action word is "lay." It takes a direct object. "Laid" is the form for its past tense and its past participle. Its present participle is "laying."
"Lie" indicates a state of reclining along a horizontal plane. It does not take a direct object. Its past tense is "lay." Its past participle is "lain." Its present participle is "lying."
When "lie" means to make an untrue statement, the verb forms are lie, lied, lying.
Present or Future Tenses:
Right: She will lay the book on the table. The prosecutor tried to lay the blame on him.
Wrong: He lays on the beach all day. I will lay down.
Right: He lies on the beach all day. I will lie down.
In the Past Tense: She laid the book on the table. The prosecutor has laid the blame on him. He lay on the beach all day. He had lain on the beach all day. I have lain down.
With the Present Participle: She is laying the book on the table. The prosecutor is laying the blame on him. He is lying on the beach. I am lying down.
Wow. Who needs a drink?
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