Rise/Raise and Sit/Set and Lie/Lay Tips

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

I am going to take sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay one pair at a time over the next few days; however, I wanted to start the series (or at least this second post) with teacher tips.

I have watched kids with glossed over eyes as I have tried many techniques and order to teach these tricky pairs, and have had many difficulties “rise” up and confuse them (and me!):

1. People lie; things get laid down—sort of works, but it’s not just people who lie—the sun lies on the horizon; the city lies asleep in the early morning hours; the animal lies in the middle of the road….you get the idea
2. People lie; things get laid down—but it still didn’t help with the sit/set and rise/raise dilemma
3. The past tense of lie (as in yesterday I lay down to take a nap…don’t I wish!) is the same as the current tense of lay (as in I am going to lay the book on the table)—poor kids!
4. And so many more!

So here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to those trying to teach these rules:

1. Consider a rhyme or mnemonic like the one above to reinforce the I’s in sit, rise, and lie—when we remind students that I do those things—and they have I’s in them, we are helping them remember that these do not have objects following them.
2. Do NOT start with lie. It is by far the most confusing of the trio—and I try to do that one after rise and sit (with fewer exceptions, etc.) are established in students’ minds.
3. DO start with sit. Set has the same tense for all—present; past; and past participle. Today I set the table; yesterday I set the table; before that I have set the table.
4. If you are teaching from a Christian standpoint, Jesus and God are prime examples of rise/rose/has risen and raise/raised/has raised:
1. Jesus will rise from the grave. God will raise Jesus.
2. Jesus rose from the grave. God raised Jesus.
3. Jesus has risen from the grave. God has raised Jesus.

5. Suggested order: sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay.

Check out more posts about these confusing verb pairs--including a quiz or two!

Happy teaching—and learning! J

Lie vs Lay

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

Here we are at the end of our Wacky Word pair—lie and lay.

Remember these lie and lay tips:

1. Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I lie in bed at midnight wide awake.
2. Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
3. Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.

2. Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
1. She lies down with a headache every day.
2. The sun is lying low.
3. She has lain down for a nap.

3. Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
1. Lay your book on the table.
2. He laid his money down.
3. She has laid the towels in the sun.

Okay…the tenses for the three:

1. Lie

            a. Base form: lie—Tomorrow I will lie down early. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb; early is an adverb here, not an object.

            b. Past simple: lay—Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Tricky part: past tense of lie is lay; lay is also the present tense of lay—to lay something down!)

            b. Past participle: lain—They have lain low ever since then.

            d. Third person singular: lies—The dog just lies under the tree all day long.

            e. Present participle/gerund: lying—The sun was lying on the horizon for so long today.

2. Lay

1. Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
2. Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
3. Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
4. Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
5. Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.

Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick

1. Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
2. Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
3. Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
4. When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)

I’m officially done with sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! Time to move on. I feel that I have risen to the occasion and am glad that I did not sit idly by and lay these tricky ones aside. Glad I did not let people lie in agony over these Wacky Words. I would like for all of us to set our grammar burdens aside and raise a toast in honor of sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! J (Last time for a while, honest!)

Sit and Set Pop Quiz With Answer Key!

      Sit Down While I Set Up a Quiz For You!

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

Fill in the blanks below with the correct forms/tenses of sit/set.

1. She _________ down and wept when she heard the news.
2. They _______ down.
3. They _______ the plants out.
4. They will be _______ the clothes out beforehand.
5. Yesterday, he ________ down to rest.
6. They will ________ the clothes out to dry.
7. He _________ down.
8. He is ____________ down.
9. They will be _________ the clothes out beforehand.
10. She has _________ the clothes out beforehand.
11. They have __________ down.
12. He has ____________ down.
13. They __________ the trap to catch the bear.
14. They are __________ down.
15. They will ________ the tent up at noon.

ANSWER KEY:

She sat down and wept when she heard the news.

They sit down.(or sat)

They set the plants out.

They will be setting the clothes out beforehand.

Yesterday, he sat down to rest.

They will set the clothes out to dry.

He sits down.

He is sitting down.

They will be setting the clothes out beforehand.

She has set the clothes out beforehand.

They have sat down.

He has sat down.

They set the trap to catch the bear.

They are sitting down.

They will set the tent up at noon.

day 99: lie and lay

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

Here we are at the end of our Wacky Word pair—lie and lay.

Remember these lie and lay tips:

1. Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I lie in bed at midnight wide awake.
2. Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
3. Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.

2. Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
1. She lies down with a headache every day.
2. The sun is lying low.
3. She has lain down for a nap.

3. Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
1. Lay your book on the table.
2. He laid his money down.
3. She has laid the towels in the sun.

Okay…the tenses for the three:

1. Lie

            a. Base form: lie—Tomorrow I will lie down early. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb; early is an adverb here, not an object.

            b. Past simple: lay—Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Tricky part: past tense of lie is lay; lay is also the present tense of lay—to lay something down!)

            b. Past participle: lain—They have lain low ever since then.

            d. Third person singular: lies—The dog just lies under the tree all day long.

            e. Present participle/gerund: lying—The sun was lying on the horizon for so long today.

2. Lay

1. Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
2. Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
3. Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
4. Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
5. Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.

Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick

1. Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
2. Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
3. Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
4. When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)

I’m officially done with sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! Time to move on. I feel that I have risen to the occasion and am glad that I did not sit idly by and lay these tricky ones aside. Glad I did not let people lie in agony over these Wacky Words. I would like for all of us to set our grammar burdens aside and raise a toast in honor of sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! J (Last time for a while, honest!)

day 95: sit and set pop quiz—answer key

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

1. She sat down and wept when she heard the news.
2. They sit down.(or sat)
3. They set the plants out.
4. They will be setting the clothes out beforehand.
5. Yesterday, he sat down to rest.
6. They will set the clothes out to dry.
7. He sits down.
8. He is sitting down.
9. They will be setting the clothes out beforehand.
10. She has set the clothes out beforehand.
11. They have sat down.
12. He has sat down.
13. They set the trap to catch the bear.
14. They are sitting down.
15. They will set the tent up at noon.

How did you do? :) Rise and raise coming soon!

day 94: sit and set pop quiz!

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

Fill in the blanks below with the correct forms/tenses of sit/set.

1. She _________ down and wept when she heard the news.
2. They _______ down.
3. They _______ the plants out.
4. They will be _______ the clothes out beforehand.
5. Yesterday, he ________ down to rest.
6. They will ________ the clothes out to dry.
7. He _________ down.
8. He is ____________ down.
9. They will be _________ the clothes out beforehand.
10. She has _________ the clothes out beforehand.
11. They have __________ down.
12. He has ____________ down.
13. They __________ the trap to catch the bear.
14. They are __________ down.
15. They will ________ the tent up at noon.

day 91: sit and set

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

"Sit, Fido! Before I have to set you down myself!"

Remember these sit and set tips:

1. Sit has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I sit down.
2. Yesterday I sat down.
3. Before that I had sat down.

2. Sit means to recline or lower down to a sitting position—anybody or anything can sit, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT set)
1. The chair sits in the corner empty, missing its owner.
2. She sat there and pouted all afternoon.
3. They are sitting down in protest.
4. She has sat there in tears all day.
5. They are sitting in the parlor.

3. Set does not have an I—it is done TO something.
4. Set must have an object following it—something that it is setting.
1. Set the table.
2. Set the baby down in her seat.
3. God set the stars in the sky.
4. Set the book on the counter.
5. We will be setting up decorations at noon.
6. The jello still needs to set . (It's like you are saying to set the jello!)
7. She sets the table as though a king is coming.

5. Set is the same base word for all of its tenses: set; set; set; sets; setting. That is why I recommend teaching this Wacky Word pair first (of the three).

Okay…the tenses for the three:

1, Sit

            a. Base form: sit—Today I sit down. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb here, not an object.

            b. Past simple: sat—Yesterday I sat down.

            b. Past participle: sat—Before that, I had sat down.

            d. Third person singular: sits—The dog sits in the corner.

            e. Present participle/gerund: sitting—I was sitting down.

2. Set

1. Base form: set—Today I set the vase on the table. (Object—vase)
2. Past simple: set—Yesterday I set the vase on the table.
3. Past participle: set—Before that I set the vase on the table.
4. Third person singular: sets—She sets the vase on the table.
5. Present participle/gerund: setting—I am setting the vase on the table.

Tomorrow is quiz day…so be ready! J

day 90: sit/set; rise/raise; lie/lay tips for teachers

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

I am going to take sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay one pair at a time over the next few days; however, I wanted to start the series (or at least this second post) with teacher tips.

I have watched kids with glossed over eyes as I have tried many techniques and order to teach these tricky pairs, and have had many difficulties “rise” up and confuse them (and me!):

1. People lie; things get laid down—sort of works, but it’s not just people who lie—the sun lies on the horizon; the city lies asleep in the early morning hours; the animal lies in the middle of the road….you get the idea
2. People lie; things get laid down—but it still didn’t help with the sit/set and rise/raise dilemma
3. The past tense of lie (as in yesterday I lay down to take a nap…don’t I wish!) is the same as the current tense of lay (as in I am going to lay the book on the table)—poor kids!
4. And so many more!

So here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to those trying to teach these rules:

1. Consider a rhyme or mnemonic like the one above to reinforce the I’s in sit, rise, and lie—when we remind students that I do those things—and they have I’s in them, we are helping them remember that these do not have objects following them.
2. Do NOT start with lie. It is by far the most confusing of the trio—and I try to do that one after rise and sit (with fewer exceptions, etc.) are established in students’ minds.
3. DO start with sit. Set has the same tense for all—present; past; and past participle. Today I set the table; yesterday I set the table; before that I have set the table.
4. If you are teaching from a Christian standpoint, Jesus and God are prime examples of rise/rose/has risen and raise/raised/has raised:
1. Jesus will rise from the grave. God will raise Jesus.
2. Jesus rose from the grave. God raised Jesus.
3. Jesus has risen from the grave. God has raised Jesus.

5. Suggested order: sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay.

Happy teaching—and learning! J

day 88: rise, lie, sit overview

Moving on from National Poetry Month--though if someone would like to send poetry, I will still publish it until the end of April.

With Easter so close, I thought we would look at a tricky Wacky Word pair--rise and raise (followed by sit and set and lie and lay since you really should learn them together, if possible).

First, an overview:

Rise and sit have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Raise, set, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

What does that mean? It means that I and rIse, I can sIt, and I can lIe without any object.

But I raise something; I set something; and I lay something....

More tomorrow...then one at a time. These are confusing ones, but with LL's tips and tricks, you will be raising your head high, sitting with grammarians with confidence, laying your dictionary aside, rising up to the occasion, setting the stage for future success, and lying down at night, knowing that you understand lie, rise, and sit! :)

Day 63: Infinitives part ii of ii

Infinitives continued…

1. They are easily confused with prepositional phrases containing the preposition to. If students learn early on when to is being used as part of an infinitive (when it is with any verb) and when it is used as a prepositional phrase (when it has an object following it), they will become better writers (for many reasons we will discuss later).
1. Infinitive: He wanted to run.
2. Prepositional phrases: They went to town.

3.  Infinitives are easy to recognize
because they always are to + verb.
Examples:

                a. to think

                b. to be

                c. to show

      3. To can also be a preposition (a word
that shows position). To know if the to is an infinitive or a preposition,
follow these rules:

                a. Look at the word following the to.

                             b. If the word following to is a verb, you know
it is an infinitive. For
example: to know

                            c. If the word following the to is anything else
(noun, pronoun, adjective, etc.), it is a  prepositional phrase. For
example: to the house

   

4. Any verb can be an infinitive. It just has
to have a to in front of it.

 

5. The to is part of the infinitive. For
example: in the case of to see, the complete verb is to see, not just see.

Tomorrow: Infinitive “pop” quiz…can you tell the difference between an infinitive and a preposition with to? J

day 61: infinitives part i of ii

Earlier I said that we teach two main categories of verbs—action and Be a Helper, Link verbs (BHL verbs).

There is another “category” of verbs that you should learn, however. That is the group of verbs (also used as other parts of speech) known as the infinitive.

We teach infinitives as verbs (and early on) for a couple of reasons:

1. While they might act like other parts of speech (i.e. modifying, being the sentence’s main subject, etc.) at times, more often than not, they act like verbs.
1. They can describe what a subject is doing: The girl decided to write the letter.
2. They can have BHL verbs with them: She had to take her medicine.
3. They can have adverbs with them (when they are comprised of action verbs): She wanted to write beautifully.
4. They can have direct objects with them (when they are comprised of action verbs): The girl wanted to eat chocolates.
5. They can have predicate adjectives with them (when they are comprised of BHL verbs): She wanted to be careful.

They can have predicate nominatives with them (when they are comprised of BHL verbs): She wanted to be an actress.

Tomorrow—more on infinitives.

day 56: action verb pop quiz answer key

Find the action verbs (those that are infinitives—to plus a verb and those that are action verbs without to. Remember—a sentence can have many action verbs throughout it.

1. Joshua and Jonathan drove to the church early, opened the doors, and began shooting hoops.
2. Ray went to work early since he wanted to be home in time to go to basketball practice with Jacob that evening.
3. Since the regular coach attended a meeting that day, Josiah coached the kids with enthusiasm.
4. Kayla went to work right away, meeting people and helping where ever she was needed.
5. Donna loved to write, edit, and teach.
6. Kids tend to laugh loudly, play rough, and jump around when the weather starts dumping rain too many days in a row.
7. She was going to cook the meal, clean the dining room, and pay bills, but her novel was calling her name.
8. They did not want to be late arriving since they were about to perform a very important piece.

day 55: action verb pop quiz!

Are you ready to see how good you are at finding action verbs? Time for another pop quiz!

Find the action verbs (those that are infinitives—to plus a verb and those that are action verbs without to. Remember—a sentence can have many action verbs throughout it.

1. Joshua and Jonathan drove to the church early, opened the doors, and began shooting hoops.
2. Ray went to work early since he wanted to be home in time to go to basketball practice with Jacob that evening.
3. Since the regular coach attended a meeting that day, Josiah coached the kids with enthusiasm.
4. Kayla went to work right away, meeting people and helping where ever she was needed.
5. Donna loved to write, edit, and teach.
6. Kids tend to laugh loudly, play rough, and jump around when the weather starts dumping rain too many days in a row.
7. She was going to cook the meal, clean the dining room, and pay bills, but her novel was calling her name.
8. They did not want to be late arriving since they were about to perform a very important piece.

day 54: compound verbs

Sometimes a sentence may have two verbs. This is called a compound verb.

If the subject of the sentence does two different things, it has a
compound verb. Examples:

Joshua wrote and edited.

1. What did Joshua do?
2. Two things:
1. Wrote
2. Edited

Kayla passed out medicines and took blood pressures.

1. What did Kayla do?
2. Two things:
1. Passed out medicines (passed)
2. Took blood pressures (took)

Sometimes a sentence can even have three or more verbs.

Verbs can be all throughout a sentence -- in opener, the main part of
the   sentence, and clauses at the end.

For example, in the sentences provided below, notice all of the bold fonted action verbs.

1. When Cami got to the church, she answered her emails, picked up her mail, and made phone calls but not before she ran into an old friend and chatted for a while.
2. If the kids wanted to perform the drama, Kara knew that they must learn to listen carefully to instructions rather than playing around during class.

day 53: action verbs

When you write sentences, you always use verbs! This is because each sentence must contain a verb. (Do you remember CAVES—Capital, All makes sense, Verb, End mark, Subject?)

The verb is the action or being of the sentence’s subject. It is what the subject is or does.

There are two main types of verbs:

        a. Action verbs
       b. Be, a Helper, Link verbs (a group of verbs we will learn containing being, helping, and linking verbs)



Action verbs are the most common type of verbs.

If the subject does something, the sentence has an action verb.



Examples:

       a. The dog barked.
       b. The cat meowed.



The easiest way to find an action verb is to ask, “What did
the subject do?”

Examples:

a. The girl smiled.
     1) What did the girl do?
     2) smiled

b. The boy ran.

   1) What did the boy do?
   2) ran

day 19: loan some cash; lend a hand?

It was so simple in my mind—banks loan money; friends lend a hand. Use loan for money and lend for everything else. Until I found out that, that is the British rules, not the US unwritten rules! Agggh….

US rules follow the loan is a noun and lend is a verb. Stuffy grammarians would not approve of my “loan money; lend a hand” philosophy.

So…if you are not concerned about impressing the grammarians of the world (especially US ones):

1. Always loan money (or never do if you want to keep friends and family!)
2. Always lend a hand…and anything else someone wants to borrow (but do not expect to get it back!)

If you are a stickler for US vs British grammar rules, and you are in the US:

1. lOAn is a nOUn (two vowels each)
2. lEnd is a vErb (one noun; e)

Regardless, always remember to lend a hand to those in need! Smile…