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Sit
and set are two words that are
incorrectly interchanged with each other.
Sit
is the word to use when the subject completes the action of
sitting. No further information is required for us to make
sense of the sentence. The sentence would be complete if the
period came right after the verb.
Ex. John
sits.
Ex. The
papers sat.
In each of
these examples, the verb sit (past tense is sat) describes
the subject of the sentence: John sits or
the papers sat.
Set
means “to place” and is a word that must have a direct
object.
Ex. Where
did you set your wallet?
Ex. Betsy
told Ferdinand to set the groceries down on
the counter.
In each of
these examples, set needs a direct object (wallet
in the first example or the groceries in the second).
Notice that each sentence would be incomplete if the
sentence ended right after the verb. Consider the following
sentences:
Ex. The
Martians sit.
Ex. The
Martians set. (Incorrect)
The first
sentence is complete. Nothing needs to follow the verb for
it to make sense. However, the second sentence is not
complete. What did the Martians set? To correct this
problem, the sentence might look something like the following:
Ex. The
Martians set the cows back down in the
prairie.
The two
words follow different patterns in conjugation (the forms
used for present, past and future tenses) as well. Notice
that the spelling for sit changes, but set
keeps the same spelling:
|
Conjugation |
Sit |
Set |
|
Present |
Sit |
Set |
|
Past |
Sat |
Set |
|
Future |
Will Sit |
Will Set |
|
Present Perfect |
Has/Have/Had Sat |
Has/Have/Had Set |
|