To lie, or to lay, that is the question. To lie means to tell a falsehood. The past form is lied. Using to lie with this meaning is less of a challenge. What gives us headaches is the other meaning: to recline or to rest in a flat position, which is similar to the verb lay: to put something in a particular position or on a surface, often horizontally. Just remember this: lay requires a direct object while lie does not. So you lie down and take a rest (no direct object), but you lay the coat on the chair (the coat is the direct object). And then things go haywire, because the past tense of lie with this meaning is lay and the past tense of lay is laid. Their past participles are also a recipe for confusion. The past participle of lie is lain: She has lain on the beach for hours. The past participle of lay is laid: They have laid all the cards on the table. People often become confused and use laid as the past participle for both verbs.

A table might help clear the fog:

Economic and economical are both adjectives, yet with quite distinct meanings. Economic refers to the science of economics or the economy. There can be an economic forecast, economic climate or economic policy. Economic also means “making a profit, or likely to make a profit”: It is no longer economic to operate the branch. Economical, on the other hand, means “not wasting resources or money”: Our car is very economical on fuel. An interesting phrase is being economical with the truth, which is a euphemism for describing someone deliberately not telling the whole truth about something: People tend to be economical with the truth when it comes to filling out their online profile.

Evoke and invoke are similar verbs that are easy to mix up. Evoke means “to call to mind such things as feelings, memories, sympathy or imagery”: The watercolour painting of the rural landscape evoked memories of her childhood. The brutal attack evoked outrage across the country. While evoke is usually passive and indirect, the action of invoking is more purposefully active. If you invoke a law, a regulation or a privilege, you use it as a reason for doing something or to justify an action: The politician invoked a constitutional provision to fend off challenges from his rivals. Invoke also means “to conjure up something into existence”: Local rituals that invoke ancestral spirits involve dancing and chanting.