Rise / Raise / Arise (Confusing Verbs) – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A critical project meeting – An analyst politely interrupts to raise financial risk concerns regarding an upcoming marketing campaign.
Choose the most appropriate word to complete each sentence. Pay attention to the grammatical context (transitive vs. intransitive) and the meaning of the sentence.
1 Excuse me, may I interrupt for a moment to ______ a question about the allocated budget?
(a) raise
(b) rise
(c) arise
(d) raising
2 If any unexpected vendor costs ______ during the campaign, our profit margin will drop significantly.
(a) raise
(b) rise
(c) arise
(d) will arise
3 As you can see on this chart, the projected advertising costs have ______ by 15% since last month.
(a) raised
(b) risen
(c) arisen
(d) rose
4 Before we approve this strategy, I would like to ______ an important point regarding the financial risks.
(a) rise
(b) arise
(c) to raising
(d) raise
5 I’m afraid a crucial issue has ______ concerning the hidden fees in this agency contract.
(a) raised
(b) risen
(c) arisen
(d) rose
6 We need to reconsider this timeline because the inflation rate is ______ rapidly this quarter.
(a) rising
(b) raising
(c) arising
(d) is rise
7 I apologize for interrupting, but I must ______ a serious concern about these ROI calculations.
(a) arise
(b) raise
(c) rise
(d) raised
8 When the uncomfortable topic of budget cuts ______, the atmosphere in the boardroom became very tense.
(a) raised
(b) rose
(c) was arisen
(d) arose
9 Our operational expenses have ______ so much lately that this new campaign might actually lose money.
(a) risen
(b) raised
(c) arisen
(d) had rise
10 Can we go back to the previous slide? Who ______ the issue of cash flow constraints earlier?
(a) rose
(b) arose
(c) raised
(d) raising
11 If a similar financial crisis ______ next year, does the company have a proper contingency plan?
(a) raise
(b) arises
(c) rises
(d) are arise
12 I genuinely didn’t want to ______ any objections today, but these financial projections simply don’t add up.
(a) raise
(b) rise
(c) arise
(d) to raise
13 As the federal interest rates ______, our borrowing costs for this expansion will become unsustainable.
(a) raise
(b) arise
(c) are raised
(d) rise
14 The project manager was actually glad that the junior analyst had ______ such a valid point before it was too late.
(a) risen
(b) raised
(c) arose
(d) raise
15 Several critical questions were ______ by the finance director regarding the long-term sustainability of the project.
(a) rose
(b) arisen
(c) raised
(d) risen
16 Should any unforeseen financial complications ______ from this risky strategy, the marketing team will be held responsible.
(a) arise
(b) raise
(c) rise
(d) to arise
17 The board of directors has explicitly warned us not to ______ the marketing budget any further.
(a) rise
(b) raise
(c) arise
(d) having raised
18 By the time the steering committee realized the error, the project’s overall deficit had already ______ beyond our control.
(a) raised
(b) arisen
(c) risen
(d) rose
19 A heated debate ______ among the stakeholders when I pointed out the obvious flaws in the revenue forecast.
(a) raised
(b) rose
(c) was arisen
(d) arose
20 The sheer lack of thorough market research has ______ serious doubts about the viability of this entire campaign.
(a) raised
(b) arisen
(c) risen
(d) raise
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) raise
- Why it is correct: “Raise a question” is a standard collocation in Business English. “Raise” is a transitive verb acting on the direct object “a question” (actively asking).
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “rise” is a common mistake (intransitive, takes no object). (c) “arise” is a strong distractor (a question does not “arise” on its own here; the speaker actively brings it up). (d) “raising” is a structural error (requires the base verb after ‘to’).
2 (c) arise
- Why it is correct: “Costs” in this specific context act as an unexpected problem or situation that happens/occurs. The intransitive verb “arise” fits the meaning perfectly.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake (missing a direct object). (b) “rise” is a strong distractor (costs can “rise”, but paired with “unexpected”, it implies new costs “appear/happen” rather than existing costs simply increasing). (d) “will arise” is a structural error (the First Conditional ‘if’ clause uses present simple).
3 (b) risen
- Why it is correct: Costs increase numerically on their own. We use the intransitive verb “rise” in the present perfect tense (have + V3: risen).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (c) “arisen” is a strong distractor (costs do not “arise by 15%”). (d) “rose” is a structural error (uses V2 instead of V3).
4 (d) raise
- Why it is correct: “Raise a point” is a highly common business collocation. It requires a transitive verb to take the object “an important point”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rise” is a common mistake. (b) “arise” is a strong distractor. (c) “to raising” is a structural error (requires the bare infinitive after ‘would like to’).
5 (c) arisen
- Why it is correct: An “issue” is an abstract problem that happens or comes into existence objectively. We use the intransitive verb “arise” in its present perfect form (has + V3: arisen).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake (no one is actively bringing it up here). (b) “risen” is a strong distractor (an issue doesn’t move upwards physically). (d) “rose” is a structural error.
6 (a) rising
- Why it is correct: The inflation rate naturally increases on its own (an economic phenomenon). We use the intransitive verb “rise” in the present continuous (“is rising”).
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “raising” is a common mistake. (c) “arising” is a strong distractor. (d) “is rise” is a structural error.
7 (b) raise
- Why it is correct: “Raise a concern” is a collocation that requires a transitive verb because it actively acts on a direct object.
- Distractor Analysis: (c) “rise” is a common mistake. (a) “arise” is a strong distractor. (d) “raised” is a structural error (needs the base form after the modal verb ‘must’).
8 (d) arose
- Why it is correct: The “topic” emerged or came up naturally during the meeting. We use the past tense of the intransitive verb “arise” (arose).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake (if someone actively brought it up, we’d use raise, but the subject itself here is ‘the topic’). (b) “rose” is a strong distractor. (c) “was arisen” is a structural error (intransitive verbs cannot be passive).
9 (a) risen
- Why it is correct: Operational expenses increase on their own. Use “rise”, and after “have” the V3 form is “risen”.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “raised” is a common mistake. (c) “arisen” is a strong distractor. (d) “had rise” is a structural error.
10 (c) raised
- Why it is correct: “Who brought up the issue…?” (Who raised the issue). We need a transitive verb acting on the object “the issue”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rose” is a common mistake. (b) “arose” is a strong distractor (asks about the human subject who performed the action, so the verb must be transitive). (d) “raising” is a structural error.
11 (b) arises
- Why it is correct: A financial crisis is an abstract situation that happens or occurs. We use “arise” with an ‘s’ for the singular subject.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake. (c) “rises” is a strong distractor (a crisis doesn’t “increase”, it “happens”). (d) “are arise” is a structural error.
12 (a) raise
- Why it is correct: “Raise objections” (to voice an objection). The verb acts directly on the object “objections”.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “rise” is a common mistake. (c) “arise” is a strong distractor. (d) “to raise” is a structural error (‘want to’ already includes the infinitive marker).
13 (d) rise
- Why it is correct: Interest rates increase naturally in the market. Use the intransitive verb “rise”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake. (b) “arise” is a strong distractor. (c) “are raised” (Grammatically possible if there’s a specific agent like the central bank, but “rise” is much more natural for general market trends).
14 (b) raised
- Why it is correct: The analyst actively brought up a point (“had raised a point”). It requires a transitive verb.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “risen” is a common mistake. (c) “arose” is a strong distractor. (d) “raise” is a structural error (requires V3 after ‘had’).
15 (c) raised
- Why it is correct: This is the passive voice: Questions were brought up by the finance director (“were raised by…”). Only transitive verbs can be transformed into the passive voice.
- Distractor Analysis: (d) “risen” is a common mistake. (b) “arisen” is a strong distractor. (a) “rose” is a structural error.
16 (a) arise
- Why it is correct: Financial complications occur or happen. This is an inverted first conditional structure (Should + S + V-inf), requiring “arise”.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “raise” is a common mistake. (c) “rise” is a strong distractor. (d) “to arise” is a structural error.
17 (b) raise
- Why it is correct: “To increase the budget” – the budget is the direct object receiving the action. We need the transitive verb “raise”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rise” is a common mistake. (c) “arise” is a strong distractor. (d) “having raised” is a structural error.
18 (c) risen
- Why it is correct: The deficit increases on its own. Use “rise”, and after “had”, the V3 form is “risen”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (b) “arisen” is a strong distractor. (d) “rose” is a structural error.
19 (d) arose
- Why it is correct: A heated debate is an abstract event that happens or occurs.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (b) “rose” is a strong distractor. (c) “was arisen” is a structural error.
20 (a) raised
- Why it is correct: The lack of research (subject) actively provoked or caused doubts (“raised doubts” – object).
- Distractor Analysis: (c) “risen” is a common mistake. (b) “arisen” is a strong distractor (doubts can ‘arise’ on their own, but here a clear subject actively caused them). (d) “raise” is a structural error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
In Business English, to avoid confusing these three verbs, simply remember the Object Rule and the Meaning Rule:
1 RAISE (Raise – Raised – Raised)
- Rule: TRANSITIVE (Must take a direct object).
- Meaning: To actively bring an issue to the table for discussion, or to intentionally increase something.
- Business Collocations: Raise an issue, Raise a question, Raise a point, Raise a concern, Raise the budget.
- Example: I want to raise a question about the budget.
2 ARISE (Arise – Arose – Arisen)
- Rule: INTRANSITIVE (Never takes an object).
- Meaning: An abstract event, problem, or difficulty happening or occurring objectively. It implies the situation simply “came up”.
- Business Collocations: Problems arise, Complications arise, Opportunities arise, Issues arise.
- Example: An unexpected problem arose during the meeting.
3 RISE (Rise – Rose – Risen)
- Rule: INTRANSITIVE (Never takes an object).
- Meaning: Numbers, levels, amounts, or prices increasing on their own.
- Business Collocations: Costs rise, Prices rise, Inflation rises, Temperatures rise.
- Example: Operating costs have risen significantly this year.