Lie or lay?

Thanks!

Lie down.

You lay [something else] down.

But in the dictionary it also has lay?

It writes lie, lay, lying, lain.

eg:To be or place oneself at rest in a flat, horizontal, or recumbent position; recline:
He lay under a tree to sleep

What were you doing a few hours ago?

I lay in bed...? It sounds so awkward, doesn't it?

Lay and Lie are very confusing -- to native speakers as well as English learners. If you type them both into the search box, you will find many earlier threads about these verbs.

Part of the confusion is because Lay and Lie are two different verbs, but lay is also the past tense of lie. In your original question in this thread, you asked if you should tell someone to lay down or lie do

What were you doing a few hours ago?

I lay in bed...? It sounds so awkward, doesn't it?

What about the sentence above?

Thanks

pleasehelp
What were you doing a few hours ago?

I lay in bed...? It sounds so awkward, doesn't it?

It doesn't sound awkward to me, but, as I said, many native speakers have trouble with "lay" and "lie." In this case, you could use the same verb form that was used in the question, ("What were you doing a few hours ago?") an

Thanks a milli...

I appreciate all y'alls help...

What really truly frustrates me is that I speak natively but I don't understand grammar whatsoever! It gets quite irritating.

I would suggest you get a basic grammar book and go back over the things you missed, or have forgotten. Going through a book methodically will make a lot more sense than trying to comprehend general rules (like the various "perfect tenses" of verbs) from random specific examples. Maybe someone here can suggest a good book for you to try. Of course you are also welcome to post questions here,

Yes, Pleasehelp, as the senior and veteran members have told you, the four parts of TO LIE (on your back) are: lie/lay/lain/lying. You are correct in saying that "I lay on the beach yesterday" sounds strange. In fact, many (most?) native speakers here in the United States do not say "lay." When you hear native speakers fail to use "lay" for the past of "lie," just remember that they are wrong,