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!)
So…before the National Poetry Month gets away from me, allow me to introduce you to something that I have enjoyed with older kids (ages twelve and up) as a Bible related, inspirational, devotional, literary-based “daily” (more often than not!) read: “The One Year Book of Poetry.”
This daily “devotional” contains inspirational poetry from many, many years ago to current. It has classic authors that everybody should be familiar with, as well as some lesser known. Each poem is set up in a daily, two-page spread–with the poem (or stanzas of the poem) on the left and a one page description on the right. The descriptive text introduces you to the author and gives details of the time period, the struggles the author may have been experiencing as he or she wrote, how the poem was received, etc. Many of them explain some of the more complex aspects of imagery and vocabulary. Yes, it’s a Bible/inspirational/literature lesson all in one book! I highly recommend this as an addition to your “daily” read alouds! 🙂
If you are interested in learning more about writing poetry or improving the poetry you do write, you might want to obtain the poetry handbook described below. I like trying different kinds than I normally write (which are nearly alwyas rhymed verse of fairly “normal” rhyme schemes–ABAB, AABBCC, ABCB, etc.). A handbook such as this one helps me learn about other styles–and challenges me to give them a try!
There are many handbooks out there–but the one below received rave reviews, is not too long, and is written by an award-winning poet.
Amazon.com Review: This slender guide by Mary Oliver deserves a place on the shelves of any budding poet. In clear, accessible prose, Oliver (winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for poetry) arms the reader with an understanding of the technical aspects of poetry writing. Her lessons on sound, line (length, meter, breaks), poetic forms (and lack thereof), tone, imagery, and revision are illustrated by a handful of wonderful poems (too bad Oliver was so modest as to not include her own). What could have been a dry account is infused throughout with Oliver’s passion for her subject, which she describes as “a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion) and the learned skills of the conscious mind.” One comes away from this volume feeling both empowered and daunted. Writing poetry is good, hard work.
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.
“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.
