Laying or lying?

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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HanyAlbair
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Laying or lying?

Post by HanyAlbair »

The envelopes have been _____ on my desk since Friday.
  • laying
    lying
in the answer sheet is: lying
but I'm confused, shouldn't it be "laying" since we mentioned the object?
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Alan
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Re: Laying or lying?

Post by Alan »

No, 'lying' is correct.

There is no object of the verb, simply a prepositional adverbial (on the desk).

A correct example of 'laying' would be:

He was laying the papers out on the desk.

where 'paper' is the direct object of the verb itself.
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