The spelling of "lays grave" can be a bit confusing, especially when considering its phonetic transcription. The word "lays" is pronounced as /leɪz/, which is spelled with an "a" and a "y" to represent the diphthong sound of the vowel. On the other hand, "grave" is pronounced /ɡreɪv/, with the same diphthong but spelled with an "a" and an "e". This difference in spelling is due to English having many irregularities in its spelling rules, making it important to practice and master pronunciation alongside spelling.