October 4th, 2009 
admin Diction means the choice of words. In English, we can find many words that have similar meaning, but cannot be used interchangeably. In such situations, a choice must be made according to the grammatical situation. Here, i am giveing you some pairs of such words which are really confusing while usage.
diction in english
- Between/Among
Between is used with two persons or things.
Among is used with three or more persons or things.
- In/Into
In is used with non-motion verbs.
He is waiting in the classroom.
Into is used with the verbs of motion.
She ran into the kitchen.
- Lie/Lay
Lie cannot take an object. It tells what a person or thing does for himself or by itself. The principle forms of lie are
| Lie (simple present tense form) | Eg: Ravi lies in his bed for a few minutes after his lunch everyday. |
| Lay (simple past tense form) | Eg: Sujith lay on the sofa all yesterday afternoon. |
| Lain (past participle form) | Eg: The book had lain unnoticed for several days before I found it today. |
| Lying (present participle form) | Eg: The woman was lying injured on the road after the accident. |
Lay always takes an object. The difference from ‘lie’ is that ‘lay’ tells what a person or thing does for someone or something else. In the below examples regarding tenses of lay, the objects are underlined.
| Lay (Simple present tense form) | Eg: I should lay the tiles in the hall very evenly. |
| Laid (Simple past tense form) | Eg: This hen laid three eggs today. |
| Laid(past participle form) | Eg: This hen has laid ten eggs this week. |
| Laying(present participle) | Eg: The workers are laying the carpet. |
- Rise/Raise
Rise does not take an object. It is an intransitive verb. ‘ Rise’ tells what someone or something does for himself or by itself. The principles forms for rise are as follows:
| Rise(Simple present tense form) | Eg: The temperature rises sharply in the afternoon. |
| Rose (Simple past tense form) | Eg: The sun rose at six yesterday. |
| Risen (past participle form) | Eg: Prices of essential commodities have risen a great deal lately. |
| Rising (present participle) | Eg: The patient’s body temperature is rising. |
Raise must have an object because it is a transitive verb. ‘Raise’ tells what someone or something does for someone or something else. In the below examples regarding tenses of raise, the objects are underlined.
| Raise (Simple present tense form) | Eg:Please raise the beam a little higher. |
| Raised (Simple past tense form) | Eg: The workers raised the beam to the required level. |
| Raised (past participle form) | Eg: The researcher has raised the temperature of the liquid in the jar. |
| Raising (present participle) | Eg: The new theory is raising many interesting questions. |
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