Originally Posted by
zozee
I misuse lay/lie, but not because I don't understand the difference; I do. The reason is that my parents (although both sticklers for good grammar) both misused it all the time. When you grow up hearing it used incorrectly, it sounds awkward to say it correctly. I say "I laid your phone on the counter" instead of "I lay it on the counter" because "lay sounds like present tense. I'll say I'm going to lay down for a nap. I will write these correctly because I take time to think about them, however.
Laid IS the past tense of lay, but lay is the past tense of lie. Oh, how confusing! I was so confused I lay down for a while, or maybe I laid myself down. I know I use those words incorrectly at least half the time.
Words that are often used incorrectly on this board - boarder instead of border, salvage instead of selvage/selvedge.
My DH was from NY, and he had a funny way of saying drawer. The kids used to try to get him to say it, because they thought it was funny. Now I have trouble saying the word too. (Try it - it's a hard word to say!)