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Sesquipedalian101 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

lain barren (?)

0 01font02font02br
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00I saw the following sentence in an email from our librarian who wanted to say that the library has not been visited for quite some time: 02br
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01i00It has lain barren for too long...02i02br
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00I wonder whether it is right to say "barren" to mean "not visited"; and even if it is, is "lain" the correct verb? 0-
  

Top answer

0 02br 02br 00Dear Selvakumar,02br 02br 00It is correct to say «lain». It is my opinion that it is a metaphor. We may say of land that it «lies barren».

— Goldmund

  • 0 02br 02br 00Dear Selvakumar,02br 02br 00It is correct to say «lain».
  • It is my opinion that it is a metaphor.
  • We may say of land that it «lies barren».
  • It means that it does not have plants.
  • 02br 02br 00It is more common perhaps to say «to lie fallow».
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3 Answers
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0 02br
02br
00Dear Selvakumar,02br
02br
00It is correct to say «lain». It is my opinion that it is a metaphor. We may say of land that it «lies barren». It means that it does not have plants. 02br
02br
00It is more common perhaps to say «to lie fallow». It means that it is cultivated land but that it does not have crops. It is so that t
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The librarian's use of "lain" with "barren" is correct.

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'It has lain barren for too long' better describes a field rather than a library, but her meaning is clear.

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