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# lying

«lying» in Mova's school dictionary: **resting flat on something, like lying in bed or a book…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (lie, lies, lay, lain, lying — to be flat); verb (lie, lies, lied, lying — to say what is not true); adjective (lying)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Lying means resting flat on something, like lying in bed or a book lying on a table. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#m1)

2) Lying also means saying something that you know is not true. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#m2)

3) A lying person is someone who tells lies. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: things resting somewhere and counted: books lying on a table, coins lying on the ground; it just says where. In logic puzzles: «lying» means telling an untruth (knights always tell the truth, knaves are always lying). Safety and life: lying down when you feel dizzy; lying is wrong and breaks trust. In stories: a dog lying by the fire, a character caught lying. Phrases: lying down, lying in bed, lying around, lying on the floor, stop lying.

### examples

- There are 9 apples lying on the grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x1)
- 4 books are lying on the desk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x2)
- She found 3 coins lying on the floor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x3)
- How many shoes are lying by the door? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x4)
- The cat was lying in the sun. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x5)
- He was lying when he said he had done his homework. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x6)
- Do not leave toys lying on the stairs; someone could trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x7)
- If you feel faint, try lying down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x8)
- In the puzzle, one of the two boys is lying. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x9)
- ‘Who’s been lying on my bed?’ [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/#x10)

### note

Two different verbs share «lying»: lie (to rest flat) has past «lay» and «lain»; lie (to say what is untrue) has past «lied». Do not confuse with «laying» (putting something down: laying a table). Carries no clue; it just says where counted things are. Trap: in logic puzzles, «lying» means telling an untruth.

### In the corpora

- [Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling standing on a scaffold and bending his head back, not lying down.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/42-olympiad-picture-puzzles/13/)
- [Banded mongooses pick ticks off warthogs lying down; a friendship where both sides gain is called mutualism.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/125-timon-and-pumbaa-real-meerkats-and-warthogs/14/)
- [Imagine walking through long grass and finding a spotted fawn lying perfectly still.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/143-bambi-real-deer-rabbits-skunks-and-owls/3/)
- [Vets treat many dogs for eating chocolate at Christmas and Easter, when there is lots of chocolate lying around the house.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/331-foods-that-are-dangerous-for-pets-chocolate-grapes-onions-and-lilies/6/)
- [Food left lying around brings rats, flies and fights between animals.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/371-street-dogs-and-cats-feeding-safety-and-never-touching-a-strange-animal/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «lying» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lying/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.