Sample 1: “Let anybody that has done that come out. I am not talking of our referred fathers. I accept that there are so many giants that came before me…(Why I stepped down for Tinubu—Amosun, Opera News, 16 June, 222)
I refer to the word referred which occurs in the following context: “not talking of our referred fathers.” It shouldn’t stretch our imagination too much to understand that the word required in the context can’t be referred but revered. There are slight similarities between the two words, but they are not sufficient to occasion the malapropism in evidence here. According to the context, the lexeme occupying the slot under reference has its synonyms: honoured, respected, valued. These synonyms are the semantic equivalents of the word revered.
Let’s have the following sentences: 1) The teacher referred to his earlier instruction on the subject. 2) Readers are referred to the previous edition of the book. 3) Those requiring counselling may be referred to either a priest or a psychologist. 4) More serious medical cases are referred to tertiary health institutions. 5) Thieves who steal by using violent means are referred to as armed robbers. 6) After observing the patient for some time, the Doctor referred him to a psychiatric hospital. 7) The lecturer frequently referred his students to the library. 8) Twenty scholars referred to that article last year alone. 9) The preacher referred to different parts of the Bible. 10) The lecturer referred to himself as a professor several times in the course of the lecture.
From those sentences, it may be inferred that to refer to a person or thing is to mention them, direct people to them, to ask people to consult them.
Now read the following sentences: 1) The Judiciary is a revered institution in our society. 2) Professor Wole Soyinka is a highly revered scholar. 3) Traditional rulers are the revered custodians of our cultural values. 4) Books are revered both by the literate and the non-literate. 5) Religious leaders are revered members of our society.6) Wealthy people are revered in modern Nigerian society. 7) Farmers who produce food that we eat are not nearly as revered as the educated citizens. 8) In the traditional African society, virginity is revered. 9) Ability to engage in physical violence is revered among commercial drivers. 10) You should be careful not to disrespect our revered elders.
At any rate, the word revered should replace referred in the context under review.
Sample 2: “The singer trended on Wednesday, March 2, when a lady went online to share a video of her sister bleeding from the face while laying on a hospital bed.” (Timaya arrested after being accused of hit-and-run accident…Opera News, 3 March, 2022)
We draw attention to the present participle, laying, which occurs in the following structure: “while laying on hospital bed.” A wrong grammatical form in the context, the word laying is placed in a position belonging to the form lying.
We need to spend some time on the various forms available in English which obviously account for the confusion leading to the ungrammatical choice.
Please read the following sentences: 1) The boys told a very colourful lie against their seniors to avoid being expelled from school. 2) It is sad that the girl always lies whatever the situation involved. 3) They lie habitually against their parents. 4) Many politicians have run into serious legal and ethical problems because they lied about their age and educational qualifications. 5) Surprisingly, he admitted in court that he was always lying about his identity.
Those sentences illustrate the usage of the word lie. A noun, the word lie, illustrated in sentence (1), is about untruth. The basic verb form is also lie, illustrated in sentence (3). Sentence (2) contains the present simple form, changed to indicate that the subject is a third person singular noun. The past form is lied (sentence 4) and the progressive (or continuous) form is lying (sentence 5). Note again the following: a lie (noun); lie, lying (verb forms).
Now read the following sentences: 1) Go and lie on your back. 2) The new mother lies in bed all day. 3) Nigeria’s major problem lies in its leadership crisis. 4) We were all lying down when the police came to rescue us. 5) Sick and tired, he lay in bed throughout the day.
Please recall that the first set of sentences illustrate the usage of the word lie—which is about falsehood. The second set illustrate the same form—lie—but this time, it has nothing to do with falsehood or saying something untrue or false. Rather, the word is about putting oneself at rest on a surface. Used always as a verb, it in fact has no noun form. All the forms—lie, lies, lying—are similar to those discussed in relation to the item having to do with making a false statement. The similarities are purely accidental.
So far, we have used the word lie in two distinct senses involving their different forms. The possibility of confusion will be minimal at this point. Confusion may begin to set in when we consider the past forms of the two words.
Please read the following sentences: 1) To escape arrest, he not only disguised himself, he lied about his country of origin. 2) He came back from hospital at about 3 pm and lay in bed for the rest of the day.
In the first sentence, the sense is about telling untruth or making a false statement. In the second, the sense is about putting oneself at rest on a surface. The past tense of that is lay. The distinction is not to be glossed over. Again, compare the following sentences: 1) A habitual liar that he is, he lied again about his parenthood. 2) Loving and compassionate as ever, he lay beside his sick wife throughout the day.
Having seen the difference between lied and lay, we are now in a position to differentiate between lied and lain. The latter (lay and lain) are the past particles of the two verbs sharing the same form—lie. Now read the following sentences: 1) How many politicians in this country have not lied at one time or the other about their educational qualifications or their states of origin or their previous activities? 2) This is the third time this malicious person has lied against me. 3) Is there anyone in this audience who has never lied in his life—said something false to wriggle himself out of an embarrassing situation, acted in such a way as to give a false impression of himself? 4) Having lain on the grass for hours, my body began to itch all over. 5) I had not lain for more than five minutes when I heard some funny noise behind the fence. 6) I had lain, not because I wanted to but because the back pain was excruciating.
Each of the first three sentences contains the form of the verb having to do with making a false statement. The past participle of that verb is lied. (Please remember that its past simple form is also lied.) Each of the last three sentences contains the form of the verb whose sense has to do with putting oneself at rest on a surface. The past participle of that verb is lain. These two forms have to be learnt carefully.
Next we want to focus attention especially on the word lay. We have seen that the form lay is the past simple form of the verb to lie, meaning to put oneself at rest on a surface. Now we are not considering lay as the past form of lie but as a substantive verb, having its own present and past forms.
The following sentences illustrate the usage: 1) My instruction is that you should go and lay the carpet. 2) The Doctor says we are free to lay the baby on the bed. 3) I have searched everywhere, but I still can’t lay my hands on the book. 4) To the surprise of everybody, he laid the blame on his brother. 5) They laid the matter to rest after an exhaustive and stormy discussion. 6) The former governor laid the foundation of the edifice sometime in 2010. 7) Has the foundation been laid? 8) The elders of the church have laid their hands on the man and he is now completely well. 9) The lecturer has laid emphasis on two major points. 10) I have laid the facts before you, and it is now up to you to draw your own conclusion.
The verb whose basic, uninflected form is lay means to put an object on a surface or on another object. The past and the past participle of that coincide in laid. Note the following points: The past tense of the verb to lie (to make an untrue statement) is lied; its past participle form is also lied. The past tense of the other verb to lie (to put oneself at rest on a surface) is lay; its past participle is lain. The past tense of the verb lay is laid; its past participle is also laid.
We can now have all the past forms together: 1) My brother lied against me. 2) The lively boy lay on the grass. 3) The chairman said the truth lay somewhere between the two extremes. 4) The mother laid the baby on the bed. 5) The industrious girl laid the mattress on the grass. 6) All members of the team laid the blame on the supervisor. 7) The hen laid twenty eggs.
We can now have all the participle forms together: 1) Many times the suspect has lied against his boss in his public testimonies. 2) I can testify that the girl has never lied before this panel. 3) If the lawyer has lied, it must be because his client has told him lies. 4) I have lain here all day reflecting on the activities of the past one week. 5) Janet has lain there idle for almost three hours now. 6) Obviously ill, the dog has lain on the carpet for hours. 7) The hen has laid many more eggs than I expected. 8) I have laid a foundation for a more advanced discussion. 9) It is immoral for a man to lie with another man’s wife. 10) He lay with her in her marital home last year.
Finally, let’s demonstrate the usage of the different present (or -ing) participles: 1) The inconsistencies and contradictions showed that he was lying to the court. 2) It is so easy to tell when my sister is lying or saying the truth. 3) We found him lying comatose on the floor. 4) He was still lying by the side of his wife when he was supposed to be at work. 5) Little did we know that we were laying a solid foundation for the future. 6) I am laying no claim to infallibility. 7) Her clothes were lying on the floor. 8) She slept with her Bible lying on her chest.
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