these two phrases look quite the same, though i think they would not seem identical to a native 'stand someone up ' or 'make someone stand'
similarly,
'sit someone down' vs' make someone sit'.
well google couldn't help me much .
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Are you being confused by the colloquial phrase, 'stood (someone) up', which means to cancel a date or appointment without notice?– John FeltzSep 1, 2018 at 21:50
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nope 'sit someone down',in that sense .– MUMBASSep 1, 2018 at 21:58
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2 Answers
Both "sit someone down" and "stand someone up" have colloquial meanings.
I sat my son down and told him that I wouldn't be able to pay for his college after all; the stock market crash wiped out all my savings.
"I sat my son down" means I had a conversation with him about serious, and usually bad, news. It doesn't literally mean that I forced him to sit down.
I was really excited for my second date with Sally, but she stood me up.
"She stood me up" means she cancelled the date without telling me. It has nothing to do with literally standing.
"Made someone stand" and "made someone sit" just have their literal meanings of requiring someone to be in a particular posture.
"Stand someone up" is an idiom. It means to schedule a romantic date and not show up.
"Sit someone down" is also an idiom, meaning to make someone give you their full attention for a long and serious talk: "I was eight years old when my dad sat me down and explained that Mom wasn't coming back." It does strongly imply that both participants in the conversation are actually sitting though.
An addendum: I think you could reasonably use either of these phrases literally as long as it was clear from context. You could stand up a row of dominoes, or sit someone down in a chair and throw darts at them, without turning any heads.
