Main Difference – Rise vs. Raise
Rise and raise are two words that look and sound similar; their meanings are also similar. Both these verbs refer to moving up. However, there is a distinct difference between rise and raise in usage. Rise is an intransitive verb whereas raise is a transitive verb. Hence, raise is always used with a direct object whereas rise is not. This can be defined as the main difference between rise and raise. Let us see the further differences between these two terms in this article.
Rise – Meaning and Usage
Rise means to go up, to move from a lower position to an upper position. Rise is an irregular verb; the past tense of rise is rose and the past participle of rise is risen. Rise is also an intransitive verb; it cannot take a direct object in a sentence. When rise is the principal verb of the sentence, it always refers to an action done by the subject. Consider the following examples to understand this concept better.
The sun rises from the east.
When she entered the room, everybody rose from their chairs.
Suddenly, a mist rose from the ground and surrounded her.
Huge flames were starting to rise.
The water level rose drastically in few short hours.
In all these examples, the subject moved themselves upwards, without the help of a physical, external force.
Raise – Meaning and Usage
Raise also means to move from a lower position to a higher position. But in this case, this meaning is more similar to lift, or to elevate something. The main difference between rise and raise is that raise is a transitive verb. That means raise can take a direct object; in fact, raise cannot exist in a sentence without the help of a direct object. For example, look at the following sentences,
He raised his hand to show that he has a question.
He can’t hear you; you have to raise your voice.
The national flag was raised in every house.
She raised the hemline of the dress by two inches.
The government has planned to raise the salary of government employees by 10%.
In all these examples, you can see that it is the object of the sentence that is elevated or lifted. (hand, voice, flag, hemline, respectively) So, we can say that raise refers to an action performed to the direct object by the subject. In addition, you’ll also notice from these examples that raise is a regular verb.
Difference Between Rise and Raise
Meaning
Rise means to move to a higher position or to ascend.
Raise means to move to a higher position or lift.
Transitive vs Intreansitive
Rise is an intransitive verb.
Raise is a transitive verb.
Regular vs Irregular
Rise is an irregular verb.
Raise is a regular verb.
Action
Rise refers to an action performed by the object without the help of an external physical force.
Raise refers to an action performed on the direct object by the subject. (Something raises something)
Direct Object
Rise cannot take a direct object.
Raise cannot be used without a direct object.
