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Grammar girl here, I'm Minion Fogarty,

and I like to help you learn how to write better

and why language is fun.

This week I have a quick and dirty tip about the words sit and set

and a meaty middle about monster words.

Next, when I did a show about lay versus lie a few months ago,

listeners wrote in asking me to do a follow-up show on sit versus set

because the problem with sit and set is similar to the problem with lay and lie,

so here it is.

Like lay, the verb set requires an object.

You set something, the object, down.

For example, I can set a book on the table.

Or if you want to get more abstract, you can set a date for an event.

There is some object that receives the action of the verb.

In my examples, it's a book and a date.

On the other hand, like lie, sit doesn't require a direct object.

It's something you do.

I sit on the couch.

Verbs such as set, which require an object are called transitive verbs.

And verbs such as sit, which don't require an object, are called in transitive verbs.

The way I remember the difference is to think of transitive verbs

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