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I have a wooden bed with four legs. When I get up in the morning I put it up on it's side and when I go to bed I put it down.

Can I say:

After getting up in the morning, I put up (erect) my bed.

At bedtime I place it down so that I can sleep on it.

Are these correct words to express this?

I am sorry if it is not quite clear.

Thanks in advance.

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  • Do the legs fold away when the bed is not in use? To me, put up implies 'assemble ready for use', so that is what you would do at bedtime. There could be a number of ways to describe standing it on its side to make more room in the daytime, such as put away, clear away or, if the legs fold, fold up. Jan 30, 2020 at 9:52

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Your proposed sentence is an appropriate way to describe placing on its side in the morning, though note that in this case, 'put up' is being used to mean 'put away,' i.e. store in a non-usable state/position between uses. This meaning of the phrase is relatively common, but somewhat idiomatic, as it does not (normally) refer to actually lifting the object higher up. For the evening, you can use the same syntax; "put it down" or "put down my bed". "Place it down" would be an unusual turn of phrase.

If you wanted to describe these actions another way,"stand up" might also be used, as the taller orientation supported on two legs could be described as standing Likewise, "lay (it) down" could be used for the evening, or "lay (it) out". If confusion is arising using the "put up" terminology, "stand up" is more explicit, and will probably be more immediately clear to people unfamiliar with the situation. If you were referring to your bed directly instead of referencing the previous sentence (as in, "I put my bed down") you would omit the parenthetical it's, which would also be natural and appropriate.

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