Rise / Raise / Arise (Confusing Verbs) – English Grammar Exercises for B2
Global Climate Change News – A news anchor reports on the latest UN findings regarding melting ice caps and the catastrophic threat of rising sea levels.
Choose the most appropriate word to complete each sentence. Pay attention to the grammatical context (transitive vs. intransitive verbs) and the specific meaning of the word in physical vs. abstract contexts.
1 According to the latest UN report, global sea levels have ______ by an alarming 10 centimeters over the past decade.
(a) raised
(b) arisen
(c) risen
(d) rose
2 The coastal floodwaters ______ so quickly last night that many residents had to evacuate immediately.
(a) rose
(b) raised
(c) arose
(d) rised
3 Climate activists are organizing a global strike to ______ awareness about the melting polar ice caps.
(a) rise
(b) raise
(c) arise
(d) raising
4 Severe humanitarian crises are expected to ______ from the continuous loss of habitable coastal land.
(a) raise
(b) arise
(c) rise
(d) to arise
5 We must drastically ______ our investments in renewable energy before the environmental damage becomes irreversible.
(a) rise
(b) arise
(c) raise
(d) raising
6 As the global average temperature ______, the massive glaciers in Greenland continue to melt at an unprecedented rate.
(a) raises
(b) arises
(c) is raise
(d) rises
7 The news anchor ______ a terrifying question: “What happens to our economy when major cities are underwater?”
(a) rose
(b) raised
(c) arose
(d) was raised
8 Unprecedented geopolitical conflicts have already ______ as nations fight over shrinking freshwater resources.
(a) raised
(b) risen
(c) arisen
(d) arose
9 To protect the vulnerable island nations, engineers proposed ______ the concrete seawalls by at least two meters.
(a) rising
(b) arising
(c) raising
(d) to raise
10 A new environmental disaster ______ yesterday when a massive iceberg, the size of London, broke off the Antarctic shelf.
(a) raised
(b) rose
(c) arose
(d) was arisen
11 The continuous, unregulated burning of fossil fuels has ______ global carbon emissions to a dangerous historic peak.
(a) risen
(b) raised
(c) arisen
(d) rose
12 Should sudden catastrophic weather events ______, local governments must have emergency evacuation plans ready.
(a) raise
(b) rise
(c) arise
(d) arising
13 The UN secretary explicitly warned that the ocean will continue to ______ even if we stop all carbon emissions today.
(a) raise
(b) arise
(c) rise
(d) rised
14 Due to the ______ sea levels, millions of coastal inhabitants will become climate refugees by 2050
(a) raising
(b) arising
(c) rising
(d) rised
15 The international community successfully ______ enough funds to build emergency flood shelters for the victims.
(a) rose
(b) raised
(c) arose
(d) has raise
16 Complex legal disputes will inevitably ______ when entirely submerged countries lose their maritime borders.
(a) arise
(b) raise
(c) rise
(d) are arise
17 Every time the global temperature ______, a significant portion of the Arctic permafrost permanently thaws.
(a) raises
(b) arises
(c) rises
(d) is rise
18 The documentary vividly showed how the ocean had ______ and swallowed entire coastal villages over the last century.
(a) raised
(b) arisen
(c) risen
(d) rose
19 Environmental scientists have repeatedly ______ red flags concerning the accelerating rate of the ice melt.
(a) risen
(b) arisen
(c) raised
(d) rose
20 An urgent need for radical international cooperation has ______ as the climate crisis worsens globally.
(a) raised
(b) arisen
(c) risen
(d) arose
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) risen
- Why it is correct: Sea levels move upward vertically on their own (intransitive). After the auxiliary “have”, we use the past participle (V3) “risen”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake (requires a direct object). (b) “arisen” is a meaning trap (water physically moves; it doesn’t “occur” like a problem). (d) “rose” is a structural error (V2 instead of V3).
2 (a) rose
- Why it is correct: Floodwaters physically move upwards (intransitive). We use the past simple tense “rose”.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “raised” is a common mistake. (c) “arose” is a meaning trap (water doesn’t “happen”). (d) “rised” is a structural error (incorrect irregular verb form).
3 (b) raise
- Why it is correct: “Raise awareness” is a fixed transitive collocation. The activists actively increase the awareness (the object).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rise” is a common mistake. (c) “arise” is a meaning trap. (d) “raising” is a structural error (needs the base verb after ‘to’).
4 (b) arise
- Why it is correct: Humanitarian crises are abstract problems that happen or result from (“arise from”) the loss of land.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake. (c) “rise” is a meaning trap. (d) “to arise” is a structural error.
5 (c) raise
- Why it is correct: Increasing investments takes a direct object (“our investments”), requiring the transitive verb “raise”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rise” is a common mistake. (b) “arise” is a meaning trap. (d) “raising” is a structural error.
6 (d) rises
- Why it is correct: Temperature naturally goes up (intransitive). We use the singular present tense “rises”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raises” is a common mistake. (b) “arises” is a meaning trap (temperatures don’t “occur”). (c) “is raise” is a structural error.
7 (b) raised
- Why it is correct: “Raise a question” is a transitive action. The anchor actively brought the question (the object) forward.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rose” is a common mistake. (c) “arose” is a meaning trap. (d) “was raised” is a structural error (active voice is needed here).
8 (c) arisen
- Why it is correct: Geopolitical conflicts are abstract events that happen. We use the V3 form “arisen” after “have”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (b) “risen” is a meaning trap (conflicts don’t physically move up). (d) “arose” is a structural error.
9 (c) raising
- Why it is correct: Making seawalls taller is a transitive action (“the concrete seawalls” is the object). After the verb ‘proposed’, we use the gerund form “raising”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rising” is a common mistake. (b) “arising” is a meaning trap. (d) “to raise” is a structural error (propose usually takes an -ing verb in this structure).
10 (c) arose
- Why it is correct: An environmental disaster is an abstract event that happens or occurs. We use the past tense “arose”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (b) “rose” is a meaning trap. (d) “was arisen” is a structural error (intransitive verbs cannot be passive).
11 (b) raised
- Why it is correct: The burning of fossil fuels (active agent) pushed carbon emissions (direct object) upward. Must use the transitive verb “raised”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “risen” is a common mistake (emissions can rise on their own, but here there is an active subject pushing them up). (c) “arisen” is a meaning trap. (d) “rose” is a structural error.
12 (c) arise
- Why it is correct: Catastrophic weather events occur/happen. This uses the formal inverted conditional: Should + Subject + arise.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake. (b) “rise” is a meaning trap. (d) “arising” is a structural error.
13 (c) rise
- Why it is correct: The ocean moves vertically upwards on its own. We use the intransitive base verb “rise”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raise” is a common mistake. (b) “arise” is a meaning trap. (d) “rised” is a structural error.
14 (c) rising
- Why it is correct: Used as a present participle adjective, “rising sea levels” perfectly describes the continuous, vertical upward movement of the ocean.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raising” is a common mistake (the sea isn’t lifting anything else). (b) “arising” is a meaning trap. (d) “rised” is a structural error.
15 (b) raised
- Why it is correct: “Raise funds” is a transitive action meaning to actively collect money (the object).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “rose” is a common mistake. (c) “arose” is a meaning trap. (d) “has raise” is a structural error.
16 (a) arise
- Why it is correct: Legal disputes are abstract problems that happen or come into existence.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) “raise” is a common mistake. (c) “rise” is a meaning trap. (d) “are arise” is a structural error.
17 (c) rises
- Why it is correct: Global temperature goes up numerically on its own (intransitive).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raises” is a common mistake. (b) “arises” is a meaning trap. (d) “is rise” is a structural error.
18 (c) risen
- Why it is correct: The ocean physically moves upwards (intransitive). Use the V3 form “risen” after “had”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (b) “arisen” is a meaning trap. (d) “rose” is a structural error.
19 (c) raised
- Why it is correct: “Raise a red flag” (to give a warning sign) is a transitive idiom. The scientists actively produced the warnings.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “risen” is a common mistake. (b) “arisen” is a meaning trap. (d) “rose” is a structural error.
20 (b) arisen
- Why it is correct: An urgent need (subject) comes into existence or occurs. We use the intransitive V3 form “arisen”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) “raised” is a common mistake. (c) “risen” is a meaning trap. (d) “arose” is a structural error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
In the context of physical phenomena like Climate Change, the distinctions are very stark:
1 RISE (Rise – Rose – Risen): PHYSICAL VERTICAL MOVEMENT
- Rule: INTRANSITIVE (Never takes an object).
- Meaning: Used for literal, physical upward movement, or numerical increases happening on their own.
- Climate News Collocations: Sea levels rise, Floodwaters rise, Temperatures rise, Rising oceans.
2 RAISE (Raise – Raised – Raised): HUMAN ACTION & INTERVENTION
- Rule: TRANSITIVE (Always takes a direct object).
- Meaning: Used when humans actively increase a number, build something higher, or bring up a topic.
- Climate News Collocations: Raise awareness, Raise funds, Raise seawalls, Raise carbon emissions (by burning fuels).
3 ARISE (Arise – Arose – Arisen): THE CONSEQUENCES
- Rule: INTRANSITIVE (Never takes an object).
- Meaning: Strictly used for abstract situations, crises, and problems that happen or emerge as a result of climate change. It never refers to physical water or temperature.
- Climate News Collocations: Disasters arise, Conflicts arise, Crises arise from global warming.