One topic that can even be confusing for native English speakers is the difference between the verbs "to lie" and "to lay."  And it's no wonder—both of these verbs can refer to being in a reclined, horizontal position, but they also have other meanings. Not only that, their conjugations in the past tense are really quite tricky!

banner PLACEHOLDER

A difference to remember is that "to lay" is a transitive verb and requires a direct object, whereas "to lie" is intransitive and does not require a second noun in the sentence. "To lie" can mean to say something that isn't truthful, or it can mean to recline or be in a resting position. While these verbs look the same in the present tense, the past tense conjugation is different! Have a look:

But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise.

Caption 68, Charlie Chaplin: Final Speech from The Great Dictator

 Play Caption

I lied! That was three.

Caption 61, Abiventures: Sandwich

 Play Caption

As you lie in fields of gold.

Caption 22, Katie Melua Fields of Gold

 Play Caption

When he came into the room in which Sleeping Beauty lay...

Caption 23, Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty

 Play Caption

Although "lay" is the simple past tense of "lie" when it refers to lying down, "to lay" is also a distinct verb and means to put or place something (the direct object) down. We say "The chicken lays an egg" and "The crew lays the foundation for a house." Note the direct objects in each of the sentences below:

Don't lay our love to rest.

Caption 38, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Sting: All For Love

 Play Caption

And we will act not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

Captions 30-31, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day: Obama's Speech

 Play Caption

Italian immigrants dug tunnels, laid railroad tracks, constructed bridges and roads, and erected the first skyscrapers.

Captions 36-38, Spotlight: Why Columbus Day?

 Play Caption

I laid four thousand and twenty eggs! -Wow!

Caption 80, Peppa Pig: Grandpa Pig's Computer

 Play Caption

To review:

Further Learning
In addition to memorizing the table above, you can find many examples of these verbs used in context on Yabla English.

Homonyms are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings and usages. This can be confusing sometimes as one must rely on context to figure out which word is meant or should be used. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Even native speakers sometimes fail to use the homonyms "there," "their," and "they're" correctly. Here is a quick review of which one is appropriate for which occasion. 

1) The word "there" is used to refer to a physical or abstract location.

When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.

When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.

Caption 4, Alaska Revealed - Endless Wave

 Play Caption

Also, it is commonly combined with a conjugation of “to be” or a modal verb to discuss the existence of something.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

Caption 28, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech

 Play Caption

I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.

I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.

Caption 9, A Charlie Brown Christmas - Opening

 Play Caption

2) "Their" is a possessive adjective used before a noun when the subject is "they." With "their," we are speaking about something that belongs to two or more people.

What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.

What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.

Caption 14, Caralie and Annie - Get to Know Each Other

 Play Caption

Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.

Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.

Caption 3, Green TV - What Is COP21?

 Play Caption

3) "They’re" is a contraction of "they are" used to refer to two or more people in the third person. It is especially useful for shortening sentences in the present continuous tense.

I think they're nice.

I think they're nice.

Caption 12, Comic-Con 2015 - Jennifer Lawrence

 Play Caption

They're playing a game on the lawn.

They're playing a game on the lawn.

Caption 10, Jessica - in Prospect Park

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Check out the examples above on Yabla English to get a better sense of the full context for the use of "there," "their," and "they're." Try to write a few sentences in which you use two or even all three of these words to solidify your understanding. An example would be: "They're not sure when they will get there. It depends on when their plane lands."

Regular verbs in English consist of a base verb from which all different tenses can easily be formed. For example, the verb "to learn": present tense: learn; continuous present tense: learning, perfect tense and past tense: learned. As you see, all tenses of the regular verb "to learn" can be formed by adding the endings -ing and -ed.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

English irregular verbs, however, have no definite rules, and although some irregular verbs have certain patterns in common, the best way to learn them is by looking at each individual verb. Let's look at the irregular verb "begin" in its simple present tense as an example.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off,

and begin again the work of remaking America.

Captions 26-27, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech

 Play Caption

As you see, in the simple present tense it remains the same. But in the present continuous tense:

It's beginning to turn into a lovely red color!

Caption 28, Tara's Recipes - Chilli Prawns and Golden Couscous

 Play Caption

Just like a regular verb, this irregular verb adds -ing, but with an extra '"n": However, in the past tense:

She got a fright when the clock suddenly began to strike twelve.

Caption 15, Yabla Fairy Tales - Cinderella

 Play Caption

The base verb "begin" changes to "began." And as a past participle:

Bottled water sales have begun to drop.

Caption 67, Nature Preservation - The Story of Bottled Water

 Play Caption

The base verb "begin" changes to "begun."

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Take a look at this list of English irregular verb forms, and search Yabla English for some of your favorite English irregular verbs to see them used in a real-world context.