Hi there. My name is Emma, and today we are going to talk about a very, very common mistake
that ESL and native speakers make -- "rise" or "raise". So these two words, which are
very similar -- they look almost the same, except this one has an "a" -- confuse students
a lot. So this lesson will tell you what the difference between these two words are. Also,
what are the different forms of these verbs, and some tricks to remember the difference.
So the first thing I want to show you is that one of the reasons why these verbs are so
frequently confused is that "rise" and "raise" -- they're both verbs that mean pretty much
to move upward. So both of these words have sort of this meaning -- to move upward.
So first we're going to look at "raise". So here I have "raise" in the present form, so
the present tense. "Raised" in the past tense, just like regular past tense verbs, sorry,
it just -- you add "ed". And for the present perfect, I have "raised" again. Past participle
is just "ed". So you can repeat this to yourself. "Raise", "raised", "raised". Okay?
So let's look at some examples. "I raise my hand." So this means my hand goes upward.
Just like this, it moves up. So oftentimes in class, the teacher says, "If you have a
question, raise your hand." Okay? And so one of the main things about "raise" is that in
this sentence we have a subject. "I" is the subject of the sentence. We have the verb,
which you know, "raise". We also have what's called an object. So an object is "something".
The verb can't stand alone. I can't say, "I raise." It's always, "What do you raise?"
"I raise what?" "I raise something." So you always need an object with "raise". So "I
raise my hand." "I raise the marker." "I raise my voice," which means I get louder.
So second example, "My boss raised my salary." This is something I hope that happens. It
means my salary, the amount of money I get paid for work, goes up. It increases. So again,
we have the subject, "your boss" or "my boss". We have the verb, "raised", and as always
with "raised", you need an object. So what is raised? "My salary." There always has to
Next example, "I have raised my kids well." We often use the word "raised" in this context
when we're talking about children. It means pretty much, "How have you parented your children?"
How have you taken care of your children? What have you taught them? "I raised my kids
well." It's just an example of how you parented them. So again, I can't say, "I have raised."
"I have raised." I need an object. In this case, the object is "someone", "my kids".
So this is a good example for "raised".
So next, and remember, present tense, just an "e", past tense, "ed", present perfect
or the past participle, "ed". So the main thing to remember, you need an object with
"raised".
So now let's look at the word, "rise". Okay, so as I said before, "rise" and "raised",
they both mean to move upward. So now let's look at "rise". In the present tense, "rise".
Simple. This is when it gets a little bit more difficult. In the past tense, "rose".
So we don't add "ed" in the past tense like we do to regular verbs. "Rise" is an irregular
verb, so this is something you're just going to have to memorize. So "rose" is the past
tense, and finally, the past participle, which we would use, for example, in the present
perfect, "risen". So "rise", "rose", "risen". Okay, so that's the first difference. With
"raise", it's a regular verb, it's easy. In the past tense, all you have to do is add
"ed". For "rise", it's not as simple. You have to memorize "rose" and "risen".
So now let's look at some sentences to get a better understanding of the word "rise".
So number one, "The sun", sorry, "The sun rises", means the sun goes up, moves upward.
Now what do you notice about the sentence? Is there an object? So we have the subject,
which is the sun, at the beginning of the sentence. We have the verb, the action, "rises".
Is there anything else? Is there an object? No. So this is the main way that "rise" differs.
There's no object, whereas in "raise", there is an object. We can also say, "The moon rises".
The sun rises and the moon rises are one of the most common ways you will use this word.
Number two, "I've just risen from my chair." So this means I was seated and I stood up.
So I went from a seated position and then I stood up, so I moved upward. Now in this
case, I've used the present perfect, "I've just risen from my chair." So again, we have
the subject, sorry, the subject is "I". We have the verb, "have just risen". Now do we
have an object? Now I know some of you might see "from my chair" and think that's the object,
but no. "From" is a preposition. It's not a thing. So in this sentence, we don't actually
have an object. I can't say, "I've just risen my hand." No. "I've just risen my pen." No.
There's no object. There's no something here. It's just a preposition, "from my chair."
So the only thing that's rising is your whole body. So there's no object.
Number three, "The bread rose in the oven." So this means that the bread, before the yeast
is cooked, it's flat, and then as it heats, it starts to rise, and it's an upward movement.
So the bread goes from being flat to being thicker and tastier. So, "The bread rose in
the oven." So where's the subject? The bread. The verb, "rose", and so again, this is the
past tense of "rise". Now do we have an object? Now you see the word "in the oven"? "In",
just like "from", is a preposition. It's not a thing. It's not an object. So no, we actually
don't have an object in this sentence. I could even say... I could get rid of this whole
thing in both these sentences and say, "I've just risen." That's grammatically correct.
I could say, "The bread rose." You don't need anything else in this sentence. All you need
is a subject and the verb, "rise". So let's do some more practice questions with this,
Okay, so time to practice "rise" and "raise". So I have six questions here, and I want you
to help me out with these. So we're going to go through each of them, and I want you
to tell me if the answer is "rise" or "raise", okay? And don't worry so much about tense.
Whether you use the past tense, present tense, or present perfect, as long as you use the
right verb, that's what I'm looking for. So let's get started.
Number one, "My grandmother, me." "My grandmother, me." So do you think it's "raise" or "rise"?
The answer is "raised". So how do I know? Well, again, "raised me" means similar to
"parented you" or "acted like a parent to you". So, "My grandmother was like a parent
to me. She took care of me and raised me." So what's the subject of the sentence? "Grandmother",
the verb, "raised". And is there an object? Again, an object can be something or someone.
Yes, "me" is the object. So therefore, I know it has to be "raised" because there's an object.
Number two, "You must rise" or "You must raise"? Which one do you think is the correct answer?
"You must rise." Okay, "You must rise." So again, "raise" and "rise", very similar meaning,
it just means to go up. So if I rise, maybe I'm seated, I'm sitting down in a chair, and
I stand up, I rise. So how do I know it's "rise"? Well, here we have the subject. "Must
rise" is the verb. Is there an object, anything after the verb? No. So it has to be "rise".
Number three, "The sun raises" or "The sun rises"? So what do you think it is? "Rises".
"The sun rises." Again, the sun is the subject, the verb, the action is "rise". Is there an
object? Is there something or someone after the verb? No. There's nothing here, so we
Number four, "Rise your hand" or "Raise your hand"? What do you think it is? "Raise your
hand." So in this sentence, we actually don't have a subject. This is an imperative, so
it's an order, somebody's giving you a command. Just like what your parents did when you were
younger, sometimes they tell you what to do. "Raise your hand." So it's a command. Here
we have the verb, "raise", and we still have an object. "You raise something." So in this
case, the "something" is your hand. So "Raise your hand." And again, this is one of the
most common expressions you will hear with "raise", so this is a very good one to memorize.
Number five, "Heat", "heat", "raises" or "rises"? "Heat rises", meaning hotness or heat moves
upward. That's why if you're in a house and you sleep on the top floor of the house, your
room is probably going to be hotter because heat rises, it moves up. So in this case,
how did I know it was "rises"? Well, we have here a subject, we have a verb, do we have
an object? Something or someone that comes right after the verb? No object, so we know
it's "rise". Okay, I hope you're getting the hang of this.
Number six, "I will rise my glass to you" or "raise my glass to you"? What do you think?
"I will raise my glass to you." So it's almost like a toast. You lift up your glass, it moves
upward. So "I will raise my glass to you." How did I know it was "raise"? Well, here's
my subject, "I". "Will raise" is the verb. And is there an object? Is there something
or someone that comes right after the verb? Yes. "My glass is the object." So "I will
So if you want to practice this more, which I highly recommend, I know that these can
be very confusing, I hope you'll come visit us at our website at www.engvid.com. We have
a quiz on this specific topic and it can really help to highlight some of the differences.