lay
/leɪ/verb
उच्चारण ले
(ध्यान से) रखना, लिटाना
Basic wordPYP · asked 2 times
Asked in previous papers
as phrasal verb
- 1
[T] ~ sb/sth + adv./prep.
to put somebody or something in a particular position, especially when it is done gently or carefully
(ध्यान से) रखना, लिटाना
- She laid the baby on the bed.
- He laid his hand on my shoulder.
- She laid the sleeping child gently on the sofa.
+ 2 more examples
- The nurse laid a cool cloth on his forehead.
- He laid the newspaper on the table and went out.
- 2
[T] ~ sth
to put something down, especially on the floor, ready to be used
(कालीन, पाइप, ईंटें आदि) बिछाना
- Workers are laying new cables.
- Workers are laying pipes along the lane to bring water to the village.
- The council is laying a new road through the village.
+ 2 more examples
- Electricians laid the cables under the floor before the walls were painted.
- They laid the foundation stone of the school last week.
- 3
[I, T] ~ (sth)
(of a bird, an insect or a fish) to produce eggs
अंडे देना
- The hen lays an egg every day.
- Pigeons lay their eggs in a nest on the ledge outside our window.
- Sparrows lay their eggs in small nests under the roof.
+ 2 more examples
- Our hens have stopped laying because of the cold.
- The turtle came ashore at night to lay her eggs on the beach.
§Structures (grammar patterns) 5
lay + object (lay, laid, laid)
Lay is a transitive verb: it always needs an object, and its forms are lay, laid, laid.
'Lay' सकर्मक verb है: इसके साथ object जरूर चाहिए, और इसके रूप lay, laid, laid हैं।
- She laid the book on the table.
- Please lay your pens down.
lay vs lie
Lie (lie, lay, lain) has no object and means to rest flat; lay needs an object. The past of lie is lay, which causes confusion.
'Lie' (lie, lay, lain) के साथ object नहीं आता और इसका अर्थ लेटना है; 'lay' को object चाहिए। Lie का past 'lay' है, इसी से भ्रम होता है।
- I lay on the sofa for an hour.
- I laid the blanket on the sofa.
lay + eggs
Birds, insects and fish lay eggs; the verb is lay, not lie.
पक्षी, कीट और मछलियाँ अंडे 'lay' करते हैं; यहाँ 'lie' नहीं चलता।
- The hen lays an egg every morning.
lay + the table / foundation / blame
Lay forms several fixed expressions with an abstract object: lay the table, lay the foundation, lay the blame on sb.
'Lay' कई स्थिर वाक्यांश बनाता है: lay the table, lay the foundation, lay the blame on sb।
- Radhika laid the table for dinner.
- The leaders laid the foundation of a new school.
lay (adjective) = not a specialist
As an adjective, lay means not trained in a subject; lay people are ordinary people.
Adjective के रूप में 'lay' का अर्थ किसी विषय में प्रशिक्षित न होना है; lay people यानी आम लोग।
- The judge explained the law in simple words for the lay reader.
+Collocations 5
lay + noun
eggsthe tablea carpetbrickspipesthe foundation
- Workers are laying pipes along the new road.
lay + abstract noun
blameemphasisstressclaimsiege
- The school lays great emphasis on discipline.
lay + trap / plan
a trapa plana beta wreaththe groundwork
- The police laid a trap to catch the thieves.
lay + down / off / out
lay downlay offlay outlay asidelay in
- The company laid off fifty workers.
lay + oneself / hands
lay hands onlay a hand onlay eyes onlay bare
- I have not laid eyes on my old teacher for years.
“More examples 5
- The hen laid three eggs in the corner of the barn.
मुर्गी ने खलिहान के कोने में तीन अंडे दिए।
- The chief guest laid a wreath at the martyrs' memorial.
मुख्य अतिथि ने शहीद स्मारक पर पुष्पचक्र अर्पित किया।
- Do not lay the blame on others for your own mistakes.
अपनी गलतियों का दोष दूसरों पर मत डालिए।
- Radhika laid her notes on the desk and began to revise.
राधिका ने अपने नोट्स मेज़ पर रखे और दोहराना शुरू किया।
- The stone was laid by the Prime Minister last year.
यह शिलान्यास पिछले वर्ष प्रधानमंत्री द्वारा किया गया था।
!Common mistakes 4
✗ I laid on the bed and read a novel.
✓ I lay on the bed and read a novel.
With no object, the past tense of lie is lay, not laid.
जब object न हो, तब lie का past tense 'lay' होता है, 'laid' नहीं।
✗ She lay the keys on the table yesterday.
✓ She laid the keys on the table yesterday.
Lay has an object (keys), so the past tense is laid.
यहाँ 'lay' का object (keys) है, इसलिए past tense 'laid' होगा।
✗ The hen has lain three eggs.
✓ The hen has laid three eggs.
The past participle of lay is laid; lain belongs to lie.
'Lay' का past participle 'laid' है; 'lain' lie का रूप है।
✗ He is laying on the floor.
✓ He is lying on the floor.
A person resting flat uses lie, whose -ing form is lying.
सपाट लेटने के लिए 'lie' आता है, जिसका -ing रूप 'lying' है।
¶Idioms 5
lay the foundation(s) of/for sth
to create the basic ideas or structures from which something develops
(किसी चीज़ की) नींव रखना
- Good reading habits lay the foundation for a strong vocabulary.
lay a trap (for sb)
to prepare a trick in order to catch sb
किसी को पकड़ने के लिए जाल बिछाना
- The police laid a trap for the smugglers.
- She laid a trap to find out who was lying.
lay the blame (for sth) on sb
to say that sb is responsible for sth bad
किसी पर दोष मढ़ना
- Don't lay the blame on me — it wasn't my idea.
- The report laid the blame for the accident on the driver.
lay it on thick
to praise sb or describe sth in a way that is exaggerated
बढ़ा-चढ़ाकर बोलना, बहुत ज़्यादा तारीफ़ करना
- He was really laying it on thick about how wonderful the food was.
- Don't lay it on too thick, or she won't believe you.
lay sth bare
to uncover sth that was hidden; to reveal sth
किसी छिपी बात को उजागर करना
- The report lays bare the failures of the system.
- The floods laid bare the poor state of the roads.
→Phrasal verbs 7
lay sb off
to stop employing somebody because there is not enough work for them to do
(काम न होने के कारण कर्मचारी को) नौकरी से हटा देना
- The factory laid off 300 workers.
lay sth down
to officially state a rule or principle that people must obey
(नियम, शर्तें) निर्धारित करना
- The rules are laid down in the notification.
lay sth aside
to put something to one side; to save something for later use
एक तरफ़ रखना; (बाद के लिए) बचाकर रखना
- She laid aside her book and listened.
lay sth out
to spread something out so that it can be seen easily; to plan the arrangement of something
(चीज़ें) फैलाकर रखना; (किसी चीज़ का) ख़ाका बनाना
- The town was laid out in neat squares.
lay into sb/sth
(informal) to attack or criticise somebody violently
(किसी पर) टूट पड़ना; कड़ी आलोचना करना
- The coach laid into the players after the defeat.
lay sth on
to provide something such as food or entertainment
(भोजन, मनोरंजन आदि की) व्यवस्था करना
- The school laid on a bus for the trip.
lay sth by
to save sth to use later
(बाद के लिए) बचाकर रखना
- She had laid by a little money for her daughter's wedding.
- Farmers lay by grain for the dry months.