The statement in present time, “The soldier lays aside his knapsack and lies down,” becomes as a statement of a past act; as, “The soldier laid aside his knapsack and lay down”; “The hen has laid an egg”; “The egg has lain (too long) in the nest.”
In poetic phraseology especially, the transitive lay (in all its tenses) is used reflexively as an equivalent of lie, lay, etc., as in the following examples:
| Intransitive. | Transitive. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pres. I lie down | = | I lay me down. |
| Imp. I lay down | = | I laid me (myself) down. |
| Fut. I will lie down | = | I will lay me (myself) down. |
| Plup. I had lain down | = | I had laid me (myself) down. |
learn, teach: Once learn was good English for teach, and signified both the imparting as well as the acquiring of knowledge. An example of this use may be found in Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet) and the Book of Common Prayer, but general modern usage restricts learn to the acquiring and teach to the imparting of knowledge.
least: Grammatical writers have reason on their side in objecting to the use of a superlative for a comparative. “Of two evils choose the less,” is better than “choose the least.” A careful speaker will observe this form. See [MORE] and [MOST].
leather as a colloquialism for “thrash” should not be used by persons accustomed to refined diction.
lease and hire are loosely used interchangeably. An agent says he has property to hire (= for hire) while the tenant says he leases it. Strictly, the former leases and the latter hires.
leave is used transitively and intransitively, but critics have objected to the latter use on the ground that the verb to leave is not expressive of any occupation—does not, in fact, of itself convey any complete idea. It is true that if you speak you can speak only that which can be spoken, whereas if you leave you may leave home or any one of a thousand things; but as home (business or domestic) may be regarded as the chief of a man’s possessions, it has been fancifully treated as being the one all-important subject to which unqualified leaving applies. One certainly may say with propriety “He has just left”; “We leave to-morrow.” Avoid such locutions as “Leave me alone”; “leave her see it,” as illiterate. Use let instead of leave.
left, to get: A slang phrase for “to be left behind; be beaten or outdone.” Avoid such a vulgarism as “Did you ever get left?”