The concept of "pure Russian" in our time is quite difficult to define unambiguously. A series of borrowings, primarily due to rapid technological progress, a developed vocabulary of slang and jargon, which are sometimes so firmly woven into colloquial use that they are used, among other things, out of place, and other factors pull our literature in different directions. Not surprisingly, against this background, many questions arise about the truth of the pronunciation. What is the correct way to say: "lay down" or "lay down"? This is just one of them. But even he is very important.
Modern Russian since childhood
Even as a child, one could notice how adults correct children who say the word "lay down", correcting it to "lay down". But is it true? Agree, "put down" sounds somehow not quite natural. Which is correct: "lay" or "put"? In modern Russian, the verb "lay down" is formally absent. It can be found in Dahl's dictionary, but even there it is not used in the infinitive. From here we can deduce the rule.
Rule
So what is the right way to say - “lay down” or “lay down”?The verb "put" is easy to find in any dictionary of the Russian language. It has the first conjugation, it is customary to attribute it to imperfective verbs. You can get plural, singular, use not only in the present, but also in the past tense.
I put the orange on the shelf. We put the orange on the shelf.
You put the orange on the shelf. You put an orange on the shelf.
He (she) puts the orange on the shelf. They put the orange on the shelf.
Here it is important to understand that when choosing how to say correctly - “lay down” or “lay down”, you need to build on the specific action and word that will need to be obtained as a result. "Put" is used only without a prefix. In all other situations, it would be more correct to take the root -false- and "collect" the word ("I put the book on my knees", but "I put the book on my knees").
Another important point is that the simple future tense cannot be formed from the verb “put”. Here, the same root -lie- from the non-existent verb “to lie” comes to the rescue (“You will put this notebook in its place”).
But be careful when deciding which is right - “put” or “lie down”. As with any rule, there are some exceptions to this.
Exceptions to the rule
There are interactive verbs. They denote some kind of repetitive action (to impose or stack - everything that can be done several times in a certain period of time). In such cases, you should use in your speechthe verb "to put" ("I serve dinner to each member of the family").
Deciding how to say “lay down” or “lay down” is not so difficult. It is enough to be guided by the rule given above, and not to forget about exceptions. The only place where the verb “lay” can look appropriate is in literature, if you want to emphasize someone’s illiteracy when writing a dialogue in a literary text. Here is a rather funny example:
"Go to bed, go to bed!" shouted Kondrat, anxiously scratching his left heel with his hairy hand.
In oral form, this will rather emphasize your personal ignorance of the Russian language. Be careful how you use words. They are a reflection of our personality.
