Lay is a verb, meaning to put something down, sometimes very carefully 'go and lay the table' Laid is the past tense - 'I laid the table at breakfast' Laid is the past simple tense (words often ending in -ed, but not this case) - 'the builder laid the first brick' NOT layed Lie is an irregular verb, meaning to be horizontal - 'I love to lie on the beach and read'' Lay is the past tense - 'I lay on the sofa all day yesterday' Lain is the past simple tense (words often ending in -ed, again not in this case) - 'he had lain on the sofa' NOT Lied ** Lie also means to tell an untruth, to deceive. Really hope that's helped. Melanie

They are two different verbs. That is the difference, just as look and talk are two different verbs. The dictionary will help in this case. We also have: lie/lied/lied (to tell a falsehood).