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.
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! 🙂
