Rise and raise both describe going up, but their grammar is different. Rise is intransitive: something rises by itself, and there is no object. Raise is transitive: you raise something, so a noun follows the verb.
The sun rises and prices rise. You raise your hand and the company raises its prices. The flag does not raise itself; you raise the flag.
The two verbs also have different past forms. Rise is irregular: rise, rose, risen. Raise is regular: raise, raised, raised. The drill below tests both the meaning and the forms.
What each word means
rise
rise (verb, no object): to go up or increase by itself. Forms: rise, rose, risen.
raise
raise (verb, needs an object): to move something up or increase it. Forms: raise, raised, raised.
The rule
Rise goes up alone
- No object follows: "Prices rise every year." Nobody raises them in the sentence.
- The sun, the moon, the temperature, the sea level and smoke all rise by themselves.
- Rise is also used for standing up in a formal way: "She rose from her chair."
- The past is rose and the past participle is risen: "Prices have risen."
Raise needs an object
- A thing or a person follows the verb: raise your hand, raise the flag, raise the price.
- Raise can mean to increase: "The shop raised its prices." Or to move up: "He raised the box above his head."
- Raise can mean to collect money: "They raised £2,000 for the school." Or to mention: "She raised an important question."
- The past and past participle are both raised: "He raised his hand yesterday."
The object test
- Look at the word after the verb. If a noun object follows, use raise.
- If nothing follows, or only a prepositional phrase such as into the sky, use rise.
- Ask: can the thing lift itself? If yes, rise. Does someone or something lift it? Then raise.
- You rise from a chair, but you raise a chair onto a table.
Related words and traps
- Arise means to happen or appear, usually for problems: "A problem may arise." It is not a physical movement.
- A rise is a noun meaning an increase: "a rise in prices". In American English a pay increase is a raise.
- Do not write rised. There is no such word: the past of rise is rose.
- Rise with an object is a common mistake. "He rose his hand" is wrong; the hand does not lift itself.
How to remember
The trick: Rise has no object and is irregular; raise takes an object and is regular. The sun rises, and you raise the flag.
Examples
- The sun rises in the east.No object follows rise, and the sun moves itself.
- Prices rose again last month.Rose is the past of rise, with no object.
- Please raise your hand before you speak.Your hand is the object, so raise is correct.
- The company raised its prices by ten per cent.Its prices is the object of raised.
- She rose early and went for a run.Rose is the past of rise and there is no object.
- He raised the box above his head.The box is the object, so raised is correct.
- The temperature rises in the afternoon.The temperature moves itself, so rise is used without an object.
- The teacher raised an important question.A question is the object of raised, meaning mentioned it.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: The government rised taxes. Right: The government raised taxes.
- Taxes is an object, so the verb is raise, and its past form is raised.
- Wrong: The sun raises in the east. Right: The sun rises in the east.
- The sun moves by itself with no object, so the verb is rise.
- Wrong: She raised from her chair. Right: She rose from her chair.
- Nobody lifts her, so rise is the verb, and its past form is rose.
- Wrong: He rose his hand. Right: He raised his hand.
- His hand is the object, and a hand does not lift itself, so raise is needed.
- Wrong: Prices have raised sharply. Right: Prices have risen sharply.
- No object appears, and the past participle of rise is risen.
Practice drill
Answer all 15 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
The sun ___ in the east.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. rises The sun moves by itself with no object, so the present verb is rises.
Please ___ your hand if you know the answer.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. raise Your hand is the object of the verb, so raise is correct.
Prices have ___ again this year.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. risen There is no object, and the past participle of rise is risen.
The company ___ its prices in March.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. raised Its prices is the object, so the past verb is raised.
She ___ from the table and left the room.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. rose Nobody lifts her and there is no object, so the past of rise is rose.
The teacher ___ an interesting question.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. raised A question is the object of the verb, so raised is correct.
The temperature usually ___ in summer.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. rises The temperature moves by itself with no object, so rises is correct.
He ___ the trophy above his head.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. raised The trophy is the object and he lifts it, so the past verb is raised.
The river has ___ after the storm.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. risen The river rises by itself, and the past participle is risen.
They ___ money for charity last year.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. raised Money is the object collected for charity, so the past verb is raised.
The balloon ___ slowly into the sky.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. rose The balloon moves up by itself with no object, so the past of rise is rose.
The government plans to ___ taxes.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. raise Taxes is the object, so the base verb raise is correct.
Her voice ___ as she became angry.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. rose Her voice goes up by itself and has no object, so rose is correct.
He was ___ in a small town in Italy.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. raised Raise a child is the standard phrase, and the passive form is raised.
The curtain ___ at eight o'clock.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. rises The curtain moves up by itself with no object, so rises is correct.
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between rise and arise?
Arise means to happen or appear and is usually formal and abstract: "A serious problem has arisen." Rise means to move upwards physically or to increase: "The road rises steeply." Use arise for situations that appear, and rise for things that go up.
Is raise the same as lift?
The meanings overlap when something moves upwards. Lift is physical and common in everyday speech: "Lift the box." Raise is more formal and also covers increases and collecting money: "raise prices", "raise funds". Use raise in those phrases.
Can rise take an object in any sentence?
No. In standard modern English, rise is intransitive. The transitive partner is raise. You may hear "raise up" in songs or old texts, but for the exam patterns on this page, keep rise without an object.
More confusing words
Lie vs lay
You lie down, but you lay something down. Lie has no object, lay needs one, and the past of lie is lay, which is the root of the confusion.
Practice vs practise
In British English, practice with a c is the noun and practise with an s is the verb. American English uses practice for both.
Speak vs talk
Speak is for languages and formal or one-way moments. Talk is for conversation and friendly exchange.
Browse all the confusing word pairs or take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.