If I were he, I would lay that manuscript on the sofa and keep it away

Question

If I were he, I would lay  that manuscript on the sofa and keep it away from the kitchen table.

A. If I were he, I would lay

B. If I were him, I would lay

C. If I were he, I would lie

D. If I was he, I would lay

E. If I was he, I would lie

ktsang · Answer

I think D should be the right answer ...

If I was he, I would lay

vasurajiv · Answer

No its A, the he part is right .. but it should be "were".

stolyar · Answer

I also vote for A—it correctly employs the subjunctive mood and the verb lay.

to lie is not a transitive verb, so it does not requires any object (manuscript). to lay is transitive and requires an object.

Makky07 · Answer

Yep, Stolyar is right.

If I were he, I would lay that manuscript on the sofa and keep it 
away from the kitchen table. 
a) 
b) If I were him, I would lay 
c) If I were he, I would lie 
d) If I was he, I would lay 
e) If I was he, I would lie

When you see this type of question, you should always ask yourself: "I would lay this manuscript on the sofa and keep it away from the kitchen table if I were (he or him)? He is obviously correct. 

Also, you lay something on another but lie on a bed.

Soumala · Answer

Choice (A) is correct.
If I were he, I would lay ........

You can forget about I and try the sentence with he/him. 
He would lay .... sounds correct and proper.

Beyond700 · Answer

Here comes the OA. Source ARCO.

The various answer choices in this example contain three places where an error may occur:  was  or  were ;  he  or  him ; and  lay  or  lie . The correct choices from the three pairs of alternatives are  were  because the first clause is contrary to fact (the  I  is not  he ) and therefore requires the subjunctive mood of the verb ( I were  rather than the normal or indicative, mood,  I was ;   he  because whenever a form of the verb  to be  is used (in this case,  were ), the pronouns on both the sides of the verb must be subjects (the  I  is a subject, and the  he  is a predicate nominative);  and  lay , wihch means "to put or place," not  lie  which means "to recline" (an error of diction). Therefore,  the correct answer is (A)

diptonsu · Answer

This type of GMAT question can be easily solved if we look at the differences of answer choices.
There are 03(three) differences in the question. We have to select between were/was, he/him & lie/lay.

Since was/were is a BE verb, and BE verb can't have an object Pronoun after it, we can easily reject option 'B'. Again it's a contrary to fact sentence, so we have to use WERE instead of WAS as an Auxiliary verb. So, reject D & E. Now, we have only A & C.
Remember, LIE(present form) is an intransitive verb, meaning it can't have an Object. LAY(present form) is a Transitive verb, meaning it must have an Object. Since we have 'That Manuscript' as an object of the verb, we must use the Transitive form LAY. So, reject C
Finally, Correct Answer A.

P.S- You can check any grammar book, (preferably SAT/GMAT)if you have doubt regarding these 3 grammar rules.

thereisaFire · Answer

Hi experts
 
Please explain why B is wrong and A is right.

aproposof · Answer

Up. I'm still confused about why B is wrong.

VerbalBot · Answer

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If I were he, I would lay that manuscript on the sofa and keep it away

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If I were he, I would lay that manuscript on the sofa and keep it away

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