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Lie down

Hello everyone,

Does "lie down" meaning "remain in a flat/lying position, especially in bed" sound natural/correct in the examples I made below?

a. I was lying down for two days in the hospital. I had an accident and couldn't get out of bed.
b. The man is sick, he can't move and he's lying down all the time in a bed. Doctors and nurses treat him.

Thank you in advance!
I don't think they're natural. For the first I would say: I was laid out flat / I was flat on my back in a hospital bed for two days.
Better, but I would still say:

I was lying on the couch for three hours watching a movie.
The teenager is so lazy, he's always lying around.

If the teen has a habit of reclining on the couch, the floor, etc., your sentence is technically correct. But usually we use lying down to mean napping. "I'm so tired that I'm going to go lie down for a while before dinner." (I'm going to lie on the bed and probably nap. Not just stretch out in the recliner.)
I was lying down for three hours watching a movie on the couch. 👁 Tick :tick:


This teenager is so lazy, he's always lying around.

"Lying down" by itself doesn't really suggest an "activity" (or "inactivity").
I was lying down for three hours watching a movie on the couch.

This one is okay for me but not great.

I was lying on the couch for three hours watching a movie.

This one from Sparky is exactly what I would say. But I grew up not too far from Indiana so it's not a suprise.

The second one is better partly because "I was lying" and "on the couch" are next to each other.

Who/what was on the couch? I was. That's clear in the second version. In the first version, it sounds like the movie was on the couch.

Down is really not necessary many times. You could use it here, but you just don't need it. "I was lying down on the couch for three hours watching a movie."

Here it is definitely necessary. "I heard a knock on the door while I was lying down resting."
This one is okay for me but not great.



This one from Sparky is exactly what I would say. But I grew up not too far from Indiana so it's not a suprise.

The second one is better partly because "I was lying" and "on the couch" are next to each other.

Who/what was on the couch? I was. That's clear in the second version. In the first version, it sounds like the movie was on the couch.

Down is really not necessary many times. You could use it here, but you just don't need it. "I was lying down on the couch for three hours watching a movie."

Here it is definitely necessary. "I heard a knock on the door while I was lying down resting."
Why is it necessary here? Can you please explain when "down" is necessary?
Generally speaking, to lie down is used to mean go from standing or sitting to a lying position. The down implies movement.

Exhausted, he walks in and immediately lies down on the bed. He then lies there for hours, unable to sleep.​
Generally speaking, to lie down is used to mean go from standing or sitting to a lying position. The down implies movement.

Exhausted, he walks in and immediately lies down on the bed. He then lies there for hours, unable to sleep.​
Thank you lingobingo!
In the following sentence of Kentix, Is that the action or the state, please?
Here it is definitely necessary. "I heard a knock on the door while I was lying down resting."
That’s a state.

To lie down = to adopt a recumbent position
To be lying down = to be in a recumbent position
That’s a state.

To lie down = to adopt a recumbent position
To be lying down = to be in a recumbent position
Thank you 👁 Smile :)

Sorry lingobingo, can "be lying down" be used to refer to the action too? like here:
Here it is definitely necessary. "I heard a knock on the door when I was lying down."
I heard a knock on the door when I was lying down.​
​
No competent English speaker would take that to mean “while I was lying down”. It’s an action that only takes a second, so it has no significant duration to justify a progressive verb form.

If you did want it to mean that, you would express it differently:

I heard a knock on the door just as I was [in the process of] lying down for a kip.​
I heard a knock on the door when I was lying down.​
​
No competent English speaker would take that to mean “while I was lying down”. It’s an action that only takes a second, so it has no significant duration to justify a progressive verb form.

If you did want it to mean that, you would express it differently:

I heard a knock on the door just as I was [in the process of] lying down for a kip.​
Good explanation. Thank you 👁 Smile :)
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