Verbs: Verbs Commonly Confused

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You may need to give special attention to the forms of certain verbs that are similar but have different meanings. Some verbs can or should be followed by a direct object; these are called transitive verbs. Some verbs, however, can never be followed by a direct object; these are called intransitive verbs.

1.	rise  to get up; ascend (intransitive)
	raise  to lift, to cause to rise (transitive)

Base	rise	raise
-s	rises	raises
-ing	rising	raising
Past	rose	raised
Past participle	risen	raised

Examples

The sun rose at 5:55 A.M. today. She raised the blind and peeked out.

 

2.	sit  to be seated (intransitive)
	set  to put or place (transitive)

Base	sit	set
-s	sits	sets
-ing	sitting	setting
Past	sat	set
Past participle	sat	set

Examples

He sat on the wooden chair.   She set the vase in the middle of the shelf.

 

3.	lie  to recline (intransitive)
	lay  to put or place (transitive)

Base	lie	lay
-s	lies	lays
-ing	lying	laying
Past	lay	laid
Past participle	lain	laid

Examples

I lay down for half an hour. I was lying down when you called. Lay the map on the floor.

In addition, note the verb lie ("to say something untrue"), which is intransitive.

Base	lie
-s	lies
-ing	lying
Past	lied
Past participle	lied

Example

He lied when he said he had won three trophies.

 

See also
Sentence Review: Constructing Sentences
Sentence Problems: Subject-Verb Agreement