Many people are self-conscious about how they put words together, particularly if they know they are speaking with a grammar expert such as Elly van Gelderen, professor of English at ASU.

(PhysOrg.com) -- "I'm going to lay down and take a nap," the man said to his wife.

You cant lie that one on me. I know youre lying, she sternly replied. Youve never laid down for a nap in your life. What are you really going to do?

Eeek. Doesnt anyone know the difference between lay and lie anymore? Does anyone even care?

And furthermore, should we care?

Todays usage of lie and lay is totally arbitrary, said Elly van Gelderen, professor of English. The Oxford English Dictionary  Samuel Johnsons dictionary  decided on these forms, and I think we should get rid of them. I dont see them as errors, just that things are changing.

The correct, or prescriptive, usage of lie and lay seem to be moving farther (or should that be further?) away from peoples conscience, as a careful reading of current newspapers illustrates.

Just ask the two people who uttered these sentences:

"You dont get a choice really. You can lay there and you can die, or you can get up and get going again.

This is just money laying on the table that companies havent gotten around to doing.

And, many of van Gelderens students dont know the difference. As part of a 10-question grammar quiz, she asked the students to choose the right usage for lay and lie  and only two students got all 10 sentences right, she said.

(Lesson: Lay is a transitive irregular verb  it needs an object: The chicken lays an egg every day. Lie is an intransitive irregular verb that does not need an object: I lie down regularly.)

And then theres the quandary of who and whom, which, van Gelderen says, has been around since the time of Shakespeare.

(Lesson: 'Who' is subject and 'whom' is the object of a preposition or verb.)

Speaking of Shakespeare, the dramatist actually wrote this sentence in The Merchant of Venice: All debts are cleared between you and I. (Another subject-object conundrum.)

But if you read a modern version of the play, youll find that it has been changed to between you and me.

(Shakespeares spelling of cleared as cleerd in The Merchant of Venice also has been fixed, and there are numerous other examples of how his language has been cleaned up.)

A new wrinkle in grammar is the increasing use of goes instead of says, as in the following exchange:

He goes, You are so last-year. Why are you wearing those ripped-up jeans? Then I go, Because I just fell and torn them.

This use of go is quotative, van Gelderen said. The speaker will say go or goes then go on to quote someone.Many people are self-conscious about how they put words together, particularly if they know they are speaking with a grammar expert such as van Gelderen.

If she happens to mention, say at the dentist, that she teaches grammar, the usual reaction is: "'Oh, my grammar is terrible.' Therefore I never say that I teach grammar, she said.

So why bother learning the rules of grammar? Why not just let it all go and say, Me sees you instead of I see you?

We stick to the rules because it makes us sound educated, van Gelderen said. To some extent it does empower people to learn grammar. Its important in our society.

And, she added, though grammar does subtly change, too many people have a vested interest in keeping it the way it is.

To say it another way, people want to see things stay like they are. (Or should it be as they are?)

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Pop Quiz: See if you can use the appropriate form of `lie or `lay in the following sentences.

Choices: lie, lay, laid, lay, laying, lying, lain, laid

1. Did you want to .................. on the couch?

2. Did you .......... your pen down?

3. Earlier today, I ................. down some towels to absorb the rain.

4. Last night, she ................. awake for a long time.

5. Have you been ................. brick long?

6. She was ................. on the couch.

7. I have ................... in the sun all day.

8. They have ................... down their arms.

Answers: 1. lie 2. lay 3. laid 4. lay 5. laying 6. lying 7. lain 8. laid

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