Born, Borne

What is the past tense and past participle of bear? Bear-bore-born/borne. Borne and born are used as the past participles of bear.However, over the usage of born or borne there is a distinct convention, which is: you say, he was born on such and such a date and month and year, but not borne.Born’s usage is restricted to birth.

Mothers bear their children for nine months inside them during which the bonding also takes place; after they were born they were looked after until they cross their teens or adulthood.

Borne is used to indicate someone’s tolerance for something, or someone, supporting, India has borne the brunt of terrorism since late 1980s, while the world is confronted with it in after 9/11.

The unemployed class and farmers has borne the burden of insecurity with helplessness and looking for assistance from the government.

How many children did she bear?

She bore eleven children. Bore, the past tense of the verb ‘bear’ is used in active construction of sentences. When followed by ‘by’ it is used in passive voice: the eleven children she borne by her grew up healthily, and also accumulated wealth.

Born functions as a verb, adjective and in forming compound words (born-again Christian, India-born Australian, first-born, royal-born, princely-born).

Born as a verb is used in the passive form without using ‘by’ meaning coming into the world by birth as result of someone’s conception: human beings are also born with assisted conception (test tube, sperm or ova donation).

Figuratively, born is referred to an organization or a political party or to an entity when it had come into existence.
Countries lived in relative comity before United Nations was born but interrupted by periods of discord and animosity.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus.

Be born yesterday and not be born yesterday are idioms referring to someone not to be foolish or likely to get deceived as a result of not having experience.

You can’t keep on cheating me, I was not born yesterday, you understand?
Born and bred is a popular idiom referring to someone where he or she was brought, educated and raised.

The children were born and bred in a religious atmosphere but with a dose of liberal thinking in the house.
Born in the purple means born in a royal or aristocratic family.

Born on the wrong side of the blanket means illegitimate. Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth – having wealthy parents.

Born functions as an adjective meaning having a specific quality. Many are not born losers but they lose due conditions and circumstances.