Bare Vs. Bear
I started writing these little mini grammar lessons because a few of my friends said I was annoying. I can’t help it! I would a see a little sticky note on the refrigerator door and things were misspelled! I mean I do it too. Writing so fast that you may use the wrong spelling of a word – especially when there are two spellings but different meanings (homophones).
So here’s one that I see a lot by people who are writing a little too fast. To quickly summarize, bare means to be naked or exposed and bear is an animal or means to carry or endure. Of course it is the second definition of bear (to carry or endure) that some people get confused with the other bare. For clarity when your write your articles, read the complete definitions of bare and bear with examples below.
DEFINITION – BARE
adjective
1 (of a person or part of the body) not clothed or covered : he was bare from the waist up | she padded in bare feet toward the door. • without the appropriate, usual, or natural covering : a clump of bare aspen trees | bare floorboards. • without the appropriate or usual contents : a bare cell with just a mattress. • unconcealed; without disguise : an ordeal that would lay barea troubled family background.
2 without addition; basic and simple : he outlined the bare essentials of the story | a strange, bare production of Twelfth Night. • [ attrib. ] only just sufficient : a bare majority. • [ attrib. ] surprisingly small in number or amount : all you need to get started with this program is a bare 10K bytes of memory. verb [ trans. ] uncover (a part of the body or other thing) and expose it to view : he bared his chest to show his scar.
PHRASES
bare all take off all of one’s clothes and display oneself to others : Lysette bared all for Playboy in 1988. the bare bones the basic facts about something, without any detail : the bare bones of the plot. bare of without : the interior, bare of plaster, leaked a smell of old timbers. bare one’s soul reveal one’s innermost secrets and feelings to someone. bare one’s teeth show one’s teeth, typically when angry. with one’s bare hands without using tools or weapons.
For you grammar geeks and English scholars, feel free to add your thoughts on this grammar blunder and any others you may have in the comment section below or over on Facebook.
Also for my budding English professors who tend to visit my grammar tip pages, there are several online teacher certification programs for professionals interested in becoming an English teacher. Perhaps one day soon, you will write a few tips for me on the site:)
Want more grammar tips like this – only better:) ?
Lisa Angelettie
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Thanks for the explanation, Lisa. 🙂
Hi Lisa,
I am curious if the phrase ‘bring to bear’ is considered ‘jargon’?
Thanks!
David
Hey David,
The phrase “bring to bear” is not considered jargon
but an actual term used in the English language found
in dictionaries, etc.
Example:
bring to bear
1. To exert; apply: bring pressure to bear on the student’s parents.
2. To put (something) to good use: “All of one’s faculties are brought to bear in an effort to become fully incorporated into the landscape” (Barry Lopez).
Thanks for the info. Now I know it’s “bear witness”. Here’s my pet peeve. Why do people use the past tense, “closed”, on their business signs but use the present tense, “Open” on them. Shouldn’t it be “Opened”? And why do people say, “Couple days from now,” instead of “Couple of days from now”? Is it laziness?
Pure laziness Tish. Also if you’ve been saying it for years without being corrected, all of a sudden people think it’s okay.
Did you start writing ‘these little articles’ because your friends said you were annoying, or did you freinds say that you were annoying because you write these articles?
Did it annoy you that I spelt friends, ‘freinds’?
Being annoying is fun.
Love it! I’m the same way.. And yes, I too make mistakes when in a hurry..
One thing though (spell check would never have caught it) in your sentence that starts with “For clarity when your write your articles…. ” I think it should be “For clarity when you write your articles…. “.
Thanks for the useful info 🙂
Unfortunately, one thing that annoys me, is the ignoring of the use of the comma! Please address this.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks a lot, these articles are so helpful. I guess this is what I need to hold onto my English, especially in a country that does not speak it.
I have one question here, I thought that I heard a phrase which sounds like bear a second, so is it correct ?
Thanks for all,
Hussain.