bear / to be borne

Status
Not open for further replies.

puzzle

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
The baby is going to be borne next week.

:?: Can "to be borne" be replaced by "to bear"? Please.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
The baby is going to be born[STRIKE]e[/STRIKE] next week.

:?: Can "to be borne" be replaced by "to bear"? Please.
No. And there is no e on 'born' in this meaning of the word.
 

puzzle

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Don''t apologise - you simply made a mistake, and a natural one.

It is a peculiarity of modern English that we largely restrict the active voice of 'bear' (become pregnant, carry and give birth to) to such sentences as 'As a result of the accident, she was unable to bear children'. Even this is rather formal; most of us would use 'have'.

In the sense of 'carry', 'suport the weight of', 'bear' (active) or, as 'be borne' (passive), is rather old-fashioned and/or formal.

In the sense of 'come into the world', we use only 'be born'.

I was born in 1946.
 

puzzle

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
;-);-);-);-);-).
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
...

In the sense of 'carry', 'support the weight of', 'bear' (active) or, as 'be borne' (passive), is rather old-fashioned and/or formal.

...I]

:up: Also figurative: 'That sort of behaviour cannot be borne.'

b
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
In the sense of 'come into the world', we use only 'be born'.

I was born in 1946.
5jj is correct of course but note, puzzle, that it's

I have borne one daughter.

not

I have born one daughter.

In the active voice, we use "borne" even when we are talking about childbirth.

PS: Remember, however, that we'd usually say

I have given birth to one daughter.


nowadays.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top