I lie on the couch and I lay my book on the coffee table and I consider these verbs that trouble people. While lying (reclining) on the couch and laying (placing) my book on the table, I wonder what difference it makes—this innocent mixing up of words. It makes no difference at all, of course, as long as the meaning is clear. For the grammatically curious, or the hobby grammarian, here is the scoop.

The past tense of the verb ‘to lie’ is ‘lay’ and therein lies (not lays) the problem. At the moment I lie on the couch. Yesterday I lay on the couch. One might think I have lain on the couch for days.

As for placing the book, that takes another verb entirely. At this moment I lay the book down. Yesterday I laid it down. In fact, I have laid it down so many times I may never finish the thing.

Verbs are ‘transitive’ if they need objects. The hen lays an egg. The editor lays her book down. The subject (hen, editor) has an object (egg, book).

‘Intransitive’ verbs have no objects. I lie. I recline. I sleep. I am. Sometimes they have modifiers (I lie down; I sleep on the couch; I am happy) but not objects.

Lying (reclining) is always intransitive; laying (placing) is always transitive. Some verbs, like the verb ‘to see’ can be either transitive or intransitive: I see stars. I see the problem. (These are sentences with objects.) I see clearly. (That’s a sentence without an object.)

Grammar is the framework for an invisible process. An orator or writer does not think of grammar any more than a musician thinks of scales. But language has its framework as surely as music does. The rules support expression, with or without conscious effort. They provide a kind of subliminal balance for contemporary idioms and cultural nuances.

The educated person today is not usually a grammarian. Formal language is no longer a sign or erudition or wisdom or prestige. The written and spoken word is no longer boss of the communication process. ‘Lie’ and ‘lay’ can get all mixed up with no consequence at all. If the meaning is clear, the phrase is appropriate. Language bows to the times, and democracy wins over elitism. The natural way we talk and think is, at last, legitimized.

As a student, I was fond of diagramming sentences. (You guessed?) The exercise is barely interesting to most people. Some are more taken with baseball statistics, or cooking, or politics, or stamp collecting. Some raise fish, or make baskets, or build models. Fascination seems to be parceled out—as if to keep a person’s particular interests from getting snagged on somebody else’s interests—as if to tease the imagination in a variety of ways.

February is a good month for hobbies.