To lie meaning in English
Learn how to use To lie correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
to lie (to someone): to speak falsely or dishonestly (to someone), to hide the truth (from someone)
I would never lie to you. I will always tell you the truth.
I can't lie to you...: I have to be honest with you..., I must tell you the truth...
a lie: an untruth, a falsehood, something said which is not true
Examples
- "Mrs Bentley : Lie?"
- "You lying liar!"
- "It's slander and lies!"
- "Bruno : Thank you doctor, thank you for not lying to me."
- "Brian : I'm not lying!"
- "I don't think I can live this lie any more."
- "Icarus : Mother, how could you have lied to me like that?"
- "What lie?"
- "Money doesn't lie, it's the only honest thing in the world."
- "You lie!"
- "I won't lie to you."
- "Jimmy : Betsy is lyin' real good"
- "Ira : Lies! Lies! How can we believe anything you say any more?"
- "Luna : But he lied on his resumé, sir."
- "-Do you mean that you lied on your application?"
- "Marvin : They are both lying, I am used for spying"
- "Brian - My life is a lie."
- "Brent : Lie on your resumé!"
Exercise 1
Choose the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Choose the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
This statement is true. When Horatio asks: "You mean the plant is not really sick?" Bruno tells him that they have lied in order to get Horatio to attend the party. There aren't really any sick plants in the office.
This statement is not true. In fact, Bob knows exactly how old Horatio is. In fact Bob says "Wow, 102 years old, that's more than a century!"
This statement is true. Bruno says: "I'm sorry Horatio, that was just a ploy to get you to come upstairs ... to celebrate your birthday with you". To lie is to deceive or tell an untruth.
This statement is true. Horatio says: "I am disappointed, but I will drink". "Disappointed" and "upset" express similar meanings in this context.
Exercise 2
Choose the TRUE statements from the list below.
There maybe more than one correct answer!
There maybe more than one correct answer!
Choose the TRUE statements from the list below.
There maybe more than one correct answer!
There maybe more than one correct answer!
This statement is false. Ray Upton informs Brent and Moira that he and Rachid "decided to land the helicopter in the parking lot" of a Taco Bell restaurant. If a vehicle "breaks down", then it has a mechanical fault which stops it from working properly. "To land" a flying vehicle is to bring it to the ground. The traffic copter has not broken down, it is just parked in a "car park" or "parking lot".
Moira speculates that Ray is lying on the beach, not that he is "lying" (or telling an untruth) to her. In English, the verb "to lie" has two primary meanings: to position the body horizontally (for example the way someone sleeps on a bed) AND to tell an untruth, or to deceive someone. Note that in the progressive (or ING) form, the verbs are conjugated exactly the same way, and so the context determines the verb's meaning. The verb "to lie" in the sense of positioning the body horizontally is irregular: lie/lay/lain.
This statement is true. Towards the end of the broadcast, Rachid states that "there are so many gorgeous women on the beach". The adjective "gorgeous" is synonymous with "beautiful" or "splendid" when used to describe a person.
This statement is true. Moira suspects that Ray and Rachid are on a beach because she hears the "sound of waves crashing against the shore". On the surface of a body of water, a "wave" is a moving swell or ridge which sometimes breaks once it reaches the "shore" (the point where land and sea meet). The verb "to crash" describes a collision or impact between objects, people etc.
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences below with the following terms, all of which were used in the conversation. You'll need your drag and drop skills here.
At breakfast, Philip was reading The Modern Perfumer, as it is his to keep up to date on the latest industry news. , he does find this task rather boring. In fact, he reads the articles at all: he mostly just looks at the pictures. Later in the day, Bruno tested Philip to check that he had read the latest issue of The Modern Perfumer. He gave Philip a from one of the articles, and asked Philip if he recognised it. "In a situation like this", thought Philip to himself, " are the best tactic".
At breakfast, Philip was reading The Modern Perfumer, as it is his to keep up to date on the latest industry news. , he does find this task rather boring. In fact, he reads the articles at all: he mostly just looks at the pictures. Later in the day, Bruno tested Philip to check that he had read the latest issue of The Modern Perfumer. He gave Philip a from one of the articles, and asked Philip if he recognised it. "In a situation like this", thought Philip to himself, " are the best tactic".
Complete the sentences below with the following terms, all of which were used in the conversation. You'll need your drag and drop skills here.
At breakfast, Philip was reading The Modern Perfumer, as it is his duty 1 to keep up to date on the latest industry news. nonetheless 2, he does find this task rather boring. In fact, he hardly 3 reads the articles at all: he mostly just looks at the pictures. Later in the day, Bruno tested Philip to check that he had read the latest issue of The Modern Perfumer. He gave Philip a quote 4 from one of the articles, and asked Philip if he recognised it. "In a situation like this", thought Philip to himself, "lies 5 are the best tactic".
At breakfast, Philip was reading The Modern Perfumer, as it is his duty 1 to keep up to date on the latest industry news. nonetheless 2, he does find this task rather boring. In fact, he hardly 3 reads the articles at all: he mostly just looks at the pictures. Later in the day, Bruno tested Philip to check that he had read the latest issue of The Modern Perfumer. He gave Philip a quote 4 from one of the articles, and asked Philip if he recognised it. "In a situation like this", thought Philip to himself, "lies 5 are the best tactic".
1 duty: This is the best choice here. The term "duty" shares a similar meaning with "obligation" or "requirement". This requirement can, for example, be moral or legal. Example: "It is my duty to inform you that your husband has a mistress". This is the same use of the term as in the conversation, when Sigourney says "it's my duty as a journalist to report on the facts", meaning that it is her obligation or responsibility to report the facts.
2 nonetheless: This is the best choice here. The term "nonetheless" shares a similar meaning with "however" or "nevertheless". These terms are used to contrast ideas. Example: "I don't enjoy watching football. But thanks for offering me the ticket nonetheless." This is the same usage as in the conversation, when Sigourney says "I can't guarantee anything, but thanks for calling nonetheless".
3 hardly: This is the best choice here. The term "hardly" shares a similar meaning with "barely", "scarcely", or "only just". Example: "I could hardly see because of all the smoke in the air". This is the same usage of the term as in the conversation, when Bruno quotes from Sigourney's article: "Bruno Delavigne is hardly fit to run a company".
4 quote: This is the best choice here. A "quote" is a "quotation" or "citation": words which are taken from elsewhere (e.g. a book, an article), and repeated. Example: "I found a useful Goethe quote online". This is the same usage of the term as in the conversation, when Bruno says "listen to this quote".
5 lies: This is the best choice here. "Lies" is the plural form of the term "lie". A "lie" is a "false statement", an "untruth", or a "deliberate deception". Example: "When I was a child, I used to tell lies to my teacher about my homework". This is the same usage of the term as in the conversation, when Bruno describes Sigourney's article as "slander and lies".
Exercise 4
Some questions to test your comprehension!
Select the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
Select the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
Some questions to test your comprehension!
Select the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
Select the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
This is incorrect. Harold says "Listen Pedro, you're a good gardener. You cut down trees real fast, and you cut my grass just the way I like it" which indicates that he is certainly happy with Pedro's work. Note that grass is "cut" and trees are "cut down", meaning that they are made to fall by cutting.
This is incorrect. Harold says to Pedro that if the "journalists try to talk to you about me or my ranch, don't tell them anything". Harold does not want Pedro to lie to the press but rather not to tell the journalists anything about him!
This is correct. Harold is worried that the journalists on his ranch are "looking for a story" and "want to destroy (his) reputation", meaning that he thinks they may publish a story about him which will damage his image.
This is correct. Harold says "here on my ranch there's lots of media types hanging around", meaning that there are journalists and reporters staying on his ranch. A "ranch" is a large farm usually found in the Western US. You can read what "to hang around" means below!
Exercise 5
Select the TRUE statement(s) from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Select the TRUE statement(s) from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
This is an incorrect statement. Icarus tells his mother that the money as "compensation could be millions!" This implies that she has not yet received any compensation money.
This is correct. Icarus says "I've just visited GoldenWheelchair.com, the personal injury specialists. I'm confident that if we sue the supermarket for causing your accident, the compensation could be millions!"
This is an incorrect statement. Many old people go to Florida to live in the heat and secure communities, but Marilyn Quincy does not say that she is ready to do this yet.
This statement is correct. Icarus's mother says that she "didn't really fall over in the supermarket" and that she lied about her story so that she could "spend some time with her son". "To lie (to someone)" is tell them something that is untrue, or give them false information. Example: My wife is very honest, she would never lie to me.
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