born to the son of..

[light]

hello,
I have 2 questions:
1) what is the function of to in the following sentence?

"He was born to the son of a mill worker."

why is to used but not as?

the version without to is more common, isn't it?

2)what is the word for women or men who really look after themselves e.g. hair care, skin care, make up, etc.? can we say well-kept??

thanks in advance

[jlinger]

1. First, the millworker had a son. Then the son had a son. This grandson was "born to the son of a millworker." He was not born as the son of a millworker unless his father was a millworker, too. Even then, I would say, he was born the son of a millworker, without the to at all.

2. Well groomed is better. No hyphen necessary when an adverb (well) is the modifier.

[light]

jlinger thank you very much for your quick reply.

so "born to the son of.." means "he is the grandson of.." I really didn't know that, I thought it meant "he is the son of.."

These two sentences are original:

"Explorer, navigator, Columbus was born in 1451, in the Republic of Genoa to the son of a weaver."

"Columbus was born in the Italian port city of Genoa, the son of Domenico Colombo, a weaver, and Suzanna Fontanarossa."

As you see, one uses to the other doesn't. That's why I thought they were equal. So there must be a kind of misinformation in the sentences.

[Anglika]

jlinger thank you very much for your quick reply.

so "born to the son of.." means "he is the grandson of.." I really didn't know that, I thought it meant "he is the son of.."

These two sentences are original:

"Explorer, navigator, Columbus was born in 1451, in the Republic of Genoa to the son of a weaver."

"Columbus was born in the Italian port city of Genoa, the son of Domenico Colombo, a weaver, and Suzanna Fontanarossa."

As you see, one uses to the other doesn't. That's why I thought they were equal. So there must be a kind of misinformation in the sentences.

It appears that the first sentence has an intrusive "to".

[jlinger]

Actually, both sentences are true. Both Domenico and his father (Chris' grandfather) were weavers. In fact, so was Chris' great-grandfather. But the weaving business was not so profitable for poor Domenico, so he went into cheese instead, and his son set out sailing and hoodwinking royalty.

[Anglika]

Christopher Columbus - Featured Biography at Biography.com

[light]

Anglika;
when you use intrusive do you mean unnecessary? So you don't agree with jlinger that "born to the son of..." means "he is the grandson of.."?

[light]

so, still a bit confused

"he was born to the son of a millionaire" means he is the grandson of a millionaire?

If the father is a millionaire, then it is "he was born the son of a millionaire"?

can someone please confirm?

[Anglika]

so, still a bit confused

"he was born to the son of a millionaire" means he is the grandson of a millionaire?

If the father is a millionaire, then it is "he was born the son of a millionaire"?

can someone please confirm?

You are absolutely correct.

The extract relating to Columbus seems to contain a typo [the unnecessary/intrusive "to"].

[light]

Anglika thanks for your quick reply but I must be an idiot tonight 'cos I'm looking at the screen like this

Because you say "you are correct" which makes "to" meaning "grandson" then you say in Columbus example it was a typo. (remember jlinger said his grandfather was a weaver too, so why to is unnecessary?)

Imagine my granfather is a priest, what am I going to say?
and my father is a miller, what is the sentence?

ps: sorry if I bored you with these questions