Rose noticed an old woman lying/lay in the mud ahead of her

[sitifan]

Rose noticed an old woman _____ in the mud ahead of her, so she went up to the woman.
(A) lied (B) lay (C) lain (D) lying
(quoted from an exam at a junior high school in Taiwan)

The answer is D. Is B also acceptable?

 

[5jj]

No.

 

[teechar]

@sitifan do you know why "B" is no good?

 

[sitifan]

@sitifan do you know why "B" is no good?

Is the sentence below acceptable?
Rose noticed (that) an old woman was lying in the mud ahead of her, so she went up to the woman.

 

[teechar]

It is, but you haven't answered my question about "B".

 

[sitifan]

@sitifan do you know why "B" is no good?

The simple past tense in B is no good. The past progressive is good.
Rose noticed (that) an old woman lay in the mud ahead of her, so she went up to the woman.
Rose noticed (that) an old woman was lying in the mud ahead of her, so she went up to the woman.

 

[tedmc]

The verb that follows "noticed" should be in the infinitive (lie) and not the simple past tense (lay).

 

[emsr2d2]

The verb that follows "noticed" should be in the infinitive (lie) and not the simple past tense (lay).

Are you suggesting that "Rose noticed an old woman lie in the mud ..." would be correct?

 

[teechar]

The verb that follows "noticed" should be in the infinitive (lie) and not the simple past tense (lay).

That is not correct.
See my post below.

 

[teechar]

The simple past tense in B is no good. The past progressive is good.

No. The tense itself is not the problem. For example:
Rose noticed that an old woman sat in the mud ... etc.
That is grammatical, but it's very unusual. Why would anyone decide to sit/lie in the mud.

Rose noticed (that) an old woman was lying in the mud ahead of her, so she went up to the woman.

The continuous (-ing) is possible. Here, it just describes a state of someone/something. The woman might have fallen into the mud, and was still lying in it when Rose noticed.