Words and Phrases People Commonly Use Incorrectly

The English language can be a tricky one. Statistics show that the average person knows around 40,000 words, but only uses about 20,000 in general, and sometimes, we use those words a little incorrectly. This can be due to a wide variety of reasons. Maybe you heard someone use the word wrong in the past and imitated them, never knowing you were both wrong all along, or perhaps you’re just going along with a popular trend, as some words are misused by literally millions of people on a very regular basis. Let’s look at some examples.

Lay

This mistake is becoming increasingly common, particularly in the United States. Does someone lay down or do they lie down? The answer is, always “lie.” We can “lay down” the law or “law down” an item, but we can’t physically lay down ourselves.

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Source: msn.com

Some people have a problem with using the word “lie” in this instance because it’s identical to the verb meaning to tell an untruth, but it’s always important to remember that “lay” is not correct when talking about a person or animal assuming a resting position.

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