Verbs often Confused ।।

Rise and Raise.

(a) Rise

✖️Don't say: Val raises very early in the morning.

✔️Say: Val rises very early in the morning.

(b) Raise

✖️Don't say: She rose their salaries too often.

✔️Say: She raised their salaries too often.

"Rise" is an intransitive verb and means to go up, stand up, or get out of bed. It doesn't require an object. Raise is a transitive verb and means to lift up something. Their principal parts are: rise, rose, risen, and raise, raised, raised.

Note: "Arise" is often used for "rise", but it is better to use arise only in the sense of begin :A quarrel (a discussion, an argument, a difficulty, etc.) may arise. This is formal but is still used.  

 Sit and Seat.

(a) Sit

✖️Don't say: We seat at a desk to write a letter.

✔️Say: We sit at a desk to write a letter.

(b) Seat

✖️Don't say: He sat the passengers one by one.

✔️Say: He seated the passengers one by one.

Use "sit" as an intransitive verb. "Seat" is a transitive verb and requires an object. Very often the object of "seat" is a reflexive pronoun: He seated himself near the fire. The principal parts of the two verbs are: sit, sat, sat, and seat, seated, seated.

Note: Don't confuse "sit" with "set", which usually means: to place. Common idioms with "set": to set the table, to set on fire, to set off (or out), to set a trap, to set a clock, to set a price, to set your heart on, to set free, to set an example, to set a broken bone, to set to work (= to start work). 

Make and Do.

(a) Make

✖️Don't say: The carpenter did a large table.

✔️Say The carpenter made a large table.

(b) Do

✖️Don't say: You must make your work carefully.

✔️Say: You must do your work carefully.

"To make" primarily means to construct or manufacture something, while "to do" mean to accomplish a thing.

Note: Common exceptions with make and do:

(a) To make a mistake, to make a promise, to make a speech, to make an excuse, to make haste, to make fun of, to make progress, to make a noise, to make a bed(= to prepare the bed for sleeping on)

(b) To do good, to do evil, to do your best, to do your duty, to do someone a favour, to do wrong, to do a puzzle, to do business, to do away with, to do gymnastics, to do exercises.