ENG 31/07

Raise vs rise

Both raise and rise refer to something going up, but there is a difference.

Raise needs a direct object - if you raise something you move it up. It has both literal and non-literal meanings and it is a regular verb, so it's past and past participle forms are raised.

• I raise my eyebrows when I'm surprised.

• The government plan to raise taxes.

• He raised his voice at me in anger, but I forgave him.

Rise does not take a direct object - things rise or go up by themselves. Rise is an irregular verb so the past form is rose and the past participle is risen.

• The sun rises at 6a.m.

• The water level rises twice a day because of the tide.

• The bird rose into the air and flew away.

Less vs fewer

Quantifiers

Less and fewer are quantifiers. Less is the comparative form of 'little' and fewer is the comparative form of 'few'.

• We have less milk than I'd hoped.

• There are fewer people than I expected.

Less We use less with uncountable nouns, such as: pollution, traffic, news and freedom. 

• There is less traffic and less pollution.

• We've been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers.

• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here.

Fewer We use fewer with countable nouns, such as: restaurants, cafes, people and bags.

• There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes.

• Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected so there's more food for everyone!

• I'm sorry, Sir. But you need to take fewer bags on the plane. Can we put one in the hold?

Because, as, since

​Reasons

Because, as and since are all used to give reasons.

• I'm tired because I didn't sleep well.

• I'm tired as I didn't sleep well.

• I'm tired since I didn't sleep well.

Because

Because focuses on the reason for something. It is more common than as or since. We can put the because clause at the beginning of the sentence. When we do so, we need to add a comma between the two clauses.

• You're reading this because you want to learn English.

• They won't be here because they're on holiday.

• Because you want to learn English, you're reading this.

• Because they're on holiday, they won't be here.

Because, as, since

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As and since

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As and since focus on the result of something rather than the reason for it. We can put the as or since clause at the beginning of the sentence. When we do so, we need to add a comma between the two clauses.

• I hope Tom's brought that comic as I wanted to borrow it from him.

• Noodles are popular since they're easy to cook.

• As I wanted to borrow that comic, I hope Tom's brought it with him.

• Since they're easy to cook, noodles are popular.