This page was composed by a credentialed teacher in California who loves Jesus. "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 1:14
Choosing Words Correctly.
Directions: Move the arrow over or touch each highlighted word or segment and look for a definition or explanation in the box.
Choosing
set instead of sat.
Use set to express to put or to place
Present: set
Past: set
Past Participle: (has/have) set
Present tense: Set the glasses on the table before lunch is served.
Past tense: I set the glasses on the table.
Past Participle: I have set the glasses on the table.
I who set the heavens in place....(Isaiah 51:16)
Choosing
sat instead of set.
Sat is the past tense of sit.
I sat in the chair.
Incorrect: I sat my glass on the table.
When the object is being acted upon use set.
Correct: I set my glass on the table (The object is the glass).
Choosing lay instead of lie.
Lay (put or place)
Present: lay
Past: laid
Past Participle: laid
The verb lay requires a direct object.
"Lay the book on the table" (the book is the direct object).
"I laid the book on the table" (the direct object: the book).
"I have laid the books on the table" (the direct object: the books).
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15.
In the above quote, the words lay down mean give up, and the object is Jesus' life.
In this context, "lay down" is a metaphor for the willingness of Jesus to sacrifice or give up his life for the benefit of his followers, symbolized as the sheep. It goes beyond the literal act of placing something down and carries the weight of self-sacrifice and devotion. Jesus is expressing his readiness to lay down his life as an act of love and protection for those who follow him.
They laid the body of Jesus in a tomb, and rolled a huge stone across the opening.
Laid is used to express the past of to put or place and should be followed by an object that was put or placed.
Be careful. It's not correct to say or write: 'He laid down on the bed.' ('Laid down' in this sentence isn't followed by an object that 'he laid down,' so the sentence is incomplete and incorrect.)"
Lie (lie down or recline or be horizontal)
The verb 'to lie' doesn't take an object; the subject is acting on itself.
- Present: lie (He likes to lie down on the sofa.)
- Past: lay (I lay on the sofa last night.)
(Note: "Lay" is used when the subject is acting on an object. For the subject acting on itself, it's 'lie.')
- Incorrect: He lied down on the sofa last night.
- Past Participle: lain (He has lain down.)
After learning to form regular simple past tenses using "ed," it can be confusing to encounter "lay" as the past tense for "lie" when it means to recline. It's common for people to mistakenly use "lay" in the present tense, saying, "Lay down on the sofa," or "Lay down on the bed."
In the following example the past tense-lay is used with other past tenses:
Then I
lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely, for the Lord was watching over me. Psalms 3:5.
Another past tense example:
He is not here; he has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Matthew 28:6.
Incorrect: I lied on the sofa last night.
Correct: I lay on the sofa last night.
Past Participle: He has lain on the sofa for an hour.
Incorrect: He has laid on the sofa for an hour.
incorrect: He has lied on the sofa for an hour.
Lay is the past tense of the verb lie or recline, and lain is the past participle that's used with a helping verb.
He laid his books on the table (he acted upon the books; the objects of the verb-laid), and
he lay down on the sofa (lay is the past tense of lie, and the subject-he is acting on itself).
He has lain on the sofa for an hour (past participle-lain used with the helping verb-has).
Choosing
Raise or Rise.
Raise (cause to rise)
Present: I pray Lord, raise me up to be with you in heaven.
Past: After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:22.
Past Participle: As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them,
'Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.'
Matthew 17:9
Rise (move upward)
Present: Jesus said to the crippled man, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'. Mark 2:9
Past: Jesus rose on the third day into heaven.
Past Participle: "He has risen" the angel told Mary after she looked into the empty tomb.