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:
Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I lie in bed at wide awake.
Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.
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)
She lies down with a headache every day.
The sun is lying low.
She has lain down for a nap.
Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
Lay your book on the table.
He laid his money down.
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
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.)
Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.
Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick
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).
Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
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).
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 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 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.
She _________ down and wept when she heard the news.
They _______ down.
They _______ the plants out.
They will be _______ the clothes out beforehand.
Yesterday, he ________ down to rest.
They will ________ the clothes out to dry.
He _________ down.
He is ____________ down.
They will be _________ the clothes out beforehand.
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:
Sit has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I sit down.
Yesterday I sat down.
Before that I had sat down.
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)
The chair sits in the corner empty, missing its owner.
She sat there and pouted all afternoon.
They are sitting down in protest.
She has sat there in tears all day.
They are sitting in the parlor.
Set does not have an I—it is done TO something.
Set must have an object following it—something that it is setting.
Set the table.
Set the baby down in her seat.
God set the stars in the sky.
Set the book on the counter.
We will be setting up decorations at noon.
The jello still needs to set . (It’s like you are saying to set the jello!)
She sets the table as though a king is coming.
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
Base form: set—Today I set the vase on the table. (Object—vase)
Past simple: set—Yesterday I set the vase on the table.
Past participle: set—Before that I set the vase on the table.
Third person singular: sets—She sets the vase on the table.
Present participle/gerund: setting—I am setting the vase on the table.
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!):
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
People lie; things get laid down—but it still didn’t help with the sit/set and rise/raise dilemma
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!
And so many more!
So here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to those trying to teach these rules:
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.
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.
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.
If you are teaching from a Christian standpoint, Jesus and God are prime examples of rise/rose/has risen and raise/raised/has raised:
Jesus will rise from the grave. God will raise Jesus.
Jesus rose from the grave. God raised Jesus.
Jesus has risen from the grave. God has raised Jesus.
Suggested order: sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay.
