What you said is the way most native speakers do it nowadays however it's not really correct. present: I lay the foundation, I lie on the ground. past: I laid the foundation, I lay on the ground. the verb lie.. to tell an untruth.. is perfectly regular.

"to lie" (e.g. "lie down") past: Yesterday, I lay on the sofa. past participle: I have lain on the sofa for many years. [not many people know "lain" is a word] present: Now, I am lying on the sofa. future: Tomorrow, I am going to lie on the sofa. habitual: I often lie on the sofa. Notice how "I laid down on the bed" doesn't fit any of these. For the past you want "lay down". Your other past tense "I lied to you." is fine as this is the meaning of "not telling the truth" and so is your "Lie to someone." Yesterday, I lied to you. I have lied to you for many years. Now, I am lying to you. Tomorrow, I am going to lie to you. I often lie to you. So the past tense of "to lie" (meaning to rest) is "lay", but this is another word which means something similar to "to place" (e.g. "to lay the table", of for a chicken "to lay an egg"): Yesterday, I laid the table. I have laid the table for many years. Now, I am laying the table. Tomorrow, I will lay the table. I often lay the table. So your "lay the foundation" is correct if it will happen in the future. As for "lay on the ground", this is OK if past tense or could be "lie on the ground" (if it's future/habitual). If you meant "lay <something> on the ground" meaning to put something on the ground, then you are missing a word. And you can see that "lying" is used for both "to lie" (untruth and rest), but "laying" for the other one.