“Arose” vs “Arisen?” What’s the Difference?

Vocabulary / By

The words “arose” and “arisen” are both past tense forms of “to arise,” which is an irregular verb. The simple past is “arose” whereas “arisen” is a past participle. Therefore, you will add the conjugation of some form of the verb “to have.”

Because “to arise” doesn’t fall under the same rules as a normal verb, you will conjugate “arose” a little differently. However, it’s imperative to keep in mind the form changes to “arisen” when denoting a completed action, also called a past participle.

Meaning of “to Arise”

To understand the usage of “arose” or “arisen,” it’s best to first study the meaning, definition and part of speech it serves. “To arise” means to get into a higher position from a lower one. This can encompass a host of concepts that could be literal, physical, metaphorical or allegorical. The conjugation goes as follows:

  • I arise
  • You arise
  • He/She/It arises
  • We arise
  • They arise

About “Arose”

However, the simple past tense of “to arise” indicates an immediate or recently passed action which changes to “arose.” Because of the verb’s irregularity, it doesn’t change during conjugation. All the pronouns receive the same word, “arose.”

  • I arose
  • You arose
  • He/She/It arose
  • We arose
  • They arose

About “Arisen”

The past participle of “to arise” is “arisen.” But, this requires first conjugating the present or past tense of the verb “to have.” So, the form of this verb intends to convey that the action has long since passed and finished quite some time ago. In this instance, you will indicate “have” in agreement with the pronoun before “arisen.”

  • I have (had) arisen
  • You have (had) arisen
  • He/She/It has (had) arisen
  • We have (had) arisen
  • They have (had) arisen

Examples of “Arose” vs “Arise”

Observe the examples below to best comprehend the indication and distance of time.

  • I arose to find a rose on my pillow.
  • I have arisen to find a rose on my pillow.
  • Molly arose from her chair for tea.
  • Molly had arisen from her chair for tea.
  • The creature arose from the swamp dripping wet and covered in mud.
  • The creature had arisen from the swamp dripping wet and covered in mud.

Conclusion

Just remember, when you want to indicate the long gone past, you will use “to have arisen.” But if it’s something done within a relatively recent time passed, you will use “arose.”

 

Conor
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