European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                R lets try to get the past straight James a Kilpatrick Universal press Syndicate i n the whole of the English Lan Guage no verbs give writers More trouble than Lay and lie. Let me cite a few horrid examples from the Portland oregonian Quot a dead Bird lays entwined in seaweed4 from the Miami Herald a True hero has lain Down his life for his country from the Savannah a morning news a Pepper will Lay in state at Capitol and from a columnist criticizing George Bush a the is talking Bland Plati tucs and laying Low a this is the Basic Rule Lay takes an object lie never does. Thus we Lay bets we Lay bricks we Lay a table. Navigators Lay a course. Hens and  eggs. The past tense of Lay is Laid one punch Laid him on the floor. The horse Laid its cars Back. We Laid in a Supply of Gin. The past participle is also Laid the present participle is laying. All Clear the slain hero has Laid Down his life for his country. Now the parts of a to lies in the sense of to recline Are lie Lay lain. The present participle is lying. The president was lying Low. A dead Bird lies entwined in seaweed. Pepper will lie in state he Lay in state for a week. Things would be simpler for writers if All verbs were As clearly delineated As lie and Lay. Unfortunately they Are not. Consider the verb a to Shine Quot the past tense is either shone or shined. The Wall Street journal said of Seattle a it rained while the Sun  the Omaha neb world Herald said of a quarterback that a aware truly shined at the  there is no quarrel Over a Shine Quot in the sense of to polish a the shined his shoes this morning Quot a the Butler shined the Silver he shined it until it  in the sense of to cast Light shined also seems better a she shined her flashlight into the  but the truth is that either Quot shined Quot or a a shone is equally acceptable in most circumstances. The Choice May depend upon whether a writer feels the need for a Long a i Quot or a Long  other verbs that deserve watching according to the latest horrid examples the past of a a bears is a a bored not a be Arede the past of a shrink Quot can be Quot shrank Quot or a shrunk Quot though to my ear a shrank Quot has a truer ring the past of. A a drink is Quot drank Quot not  there Are no options on the last one. 1 the Burden of proof by Scott Turow last week 1, weeks on list 6 2 message from Nam by Danielle steel last a week 2 weeks on list 5 1 a 1 a 3 Coyote Walls by Tony Hilterman last week 11 weeks on list 3 4 the stand by Stephen King last week 4 weeks on list 11 5 september by Rosamunde Pilcher last week 5 weeks on list 14 6 of the places you la go by or. Seuss last week 4 weeks on list 22 7 dragon by Clive Cussler last week 6 weeks on list 11. 8 an inconvenient woman by Dominick Dunne last week 7 weeks on list 11 9 Tho Bourne ultimatum by Robed Ludlum last. Week 10 weeks on list 19 10 Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux last week a 11 weeks on list 2 a non fiction 1 men at work by George r will last week 1. Weeks on list 15. 2 Dave Barry turns 40 by Dave Barry last week 2 weeks on list 8. 3 father son and co by Thomas j. Watson or. And Peter Petre last week 4 weeks on list 7 4 Meg trends 2000 by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene last week 6 weeks on list 26. 5 barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar last week 3 weeks on list 26 6 Don t shoot ifs Only me by Bob Hope with Melville Shavelson last week a weeks on list 7 7 Captain sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice last week 7 weeks on list 3 8 it was on Flora when i Lay Down on it by Robert Fulghum last week 5 weeks on list 44 9 behind the mask by David Pallone with Alan Steinberg last week 15 weeks on list 3 10 liar s poker by Michael Lewis last week not listed weeks on list 35 paperback fiction 1 Clear and present danger by Tom Clancy first week on list. 2 while my pretty one sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark weeks on list 4 3 presumed innocent by Scott Turow weeks on list 34 4 blessings by Belva Plain weeks on list 3 5 Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith weeks on list 3 6 the Joy Luck club by Amy Tan weeks on list 9 7. Garden of lies by Eileen Goudge weeks on list 5 8 the Russia House by John be Carre weeks on list 5 9 capital crimes by Lawrence Sanders weeks on list 4 10 murder at the Kennedy Center by Margaret Truman weeks on list 4 paperback non fiction 1 its always something by Gilda Radner weeks on list 4 2 when Rabbit howls by to Nodi Chase weeks on list 7 3 All i really need to know 1 Learned in kindergarten by Robert Fulghum weeks on list 35 4 a Arlel history of time by Stephen hawking. Weeks on list 7 a. 5 a woman named Jackie by c. David Heymann weeks on list 9 6 our Story new kids on the Block weeks on list 4 7 the Road less travelled by a Scott Peck weeks on list 352 8 summer of 49 by David Halberstam weeks on. List 15. A. A 9 love Medicine and my rates by Bernie s. Siegel weeks on fist 105 10 new kids on the Block by Robin Mcgibbon first week on list a paperback miscellaneous 1 hand Mcnally Road Atlas by Rand Mcnally weeks on list 22 2 codependent no More by Melanie Beattie weeks on list 9b. 3 weirdos from another planet by Bill Watterson weeks on list 18 4 50 simple things you can do to save the Earth by the earthworks group weeks on list 24 5 the to Factor fat Gram counter by Jamie a Pope Cordle weeks on list 11 a a compiled by the new York times. Stars and stripes Best Sellers fiction 1 message from Nam by Danielle steel 2 the stand by Stephen King 3 Bright Star by Harold Coyle 4 the bad place by Dean Koontz 5 dragon by Clive Cussler 6 the Golden Orange by Joseph Wambaugh 7 the outlaws of Mesquite by Louis l amour 8 a go is Tor Gumshoe by sue Gralton 9 an inconvenient woman by Dominick Dunne 10 the Bourne ultimatum by Robert Ludlum n0n-fict10n 1 men at work by George will 2 Dave Barry turns 40 by Dave Barry 3 Don t shoot its Only me by Bob Hope with Melville Shavelson 4 father san and co. By Thomas j. Watson or and Peter Petre 5 it was on fire when i Lay Down on it by Robert Fulghum. 6 Meg trends 2000 by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene 7 barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John he iyar a 8 head first by Norman cousins 9 wealth without Rish by Charles j Givens 10 Londei of s n no n8w cotes Sale 0lcli it nary Page 10 c sunday july 22, 1990