[Vocabulary] It is genes that lies in our personality rather than environment.

[yi-ing]

What does lie in mean ? I have searched some dictionaries, but in almost all dictionaries that verb means "to go to bed'.

It is genes thatlies inour personality rather than environment.
Life lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

 

[emsr2d2]

It doesn't use the phrasal verb "lie in" (which means "to remain in bed later than one's normal getting-up time") - it uses the verb "lie" and the preposition in.

The whole sentence doesn't make any sense:

1. It starts with "It is genes" (plural noun) so it should be followed by a plural verb.
2. Without knowing what comes before it, it's impossible to say why it starts with "It is", rather than "They are".
3. We don't have "genes in our personality" nor in the environment.

Where did you find this odd sentence and what was being discussed?

(Edit: The OP must have been editing post #1 while I was typing my response. The second example sentence wasn't there when I replied.)

 

[yi-ing]

They were written by myself.
I want to say that "Genes lie in our personality rather than environment." in the following way:

They are genes that lie in our personality rather than environment.

 

[emsr2d2]

I still don't understand the concept. Our genes are in our body, in our DNA. They don't exist in our personality or in our environment. Can you explain what you're trying to express in a different way?

 

[yi-ing]

I want to say that our traits are determined by genes rather than environment.

 

[tedmc]

I want to say that our traits are determined by genes rather than environment.

This is a better way to say it. Or you say: it is our genes (that we inherit from our parents) that determine our personalities, rather than the environment. As a fact, both factors, nature and nurture, contribute to one's personality/traits.

 

[emsr2d2]

It is our genes, not our environment, that determine our personality.

You are basically describing the "Nature v Nurture" debate.

 

[Raymott]

They are genes that lie in our personality rather than environment.

One problem of this (not the least) is that it could mean, "Our genes determine our personality; they don't determine our environment."