Borne Identity

I received an interesting grammar question from a former colleague who is the editor of a trade magazine. (Yeah, my friends ask me these sorts of questions -- I'm the life of the party.)

What’s the difference between "born" and "borne"? For example, I know this is correct: "I was born on Feb. 23." But which of these is correct?

• "The Web site was borne out of the need for consumers to be able to shop for books online."
• "The Web site was born out of the need for consumers to be able to shop for books online."

In the end, on deadline, we rewrote the sentence to remove "born" or "borne," but now I’m curious.

I didn't know the answer, but, being the grammar geek that I am, I decided to track it down. Here is what I found, compliments of Merriam-Webster:

Thanks to the vagaries of English spelling, bear has two past participles: born and borne. Traditionally, born is used only in passive constructions referring to birth: I was born in Chicago. For all other uses, including active constructions referring to birth, borne is the standard form: She has borne both her children at home. I have borne his insolence with the patience of a saint.

So it seems that in passive constructions, "born" is preferred. But in active construction, you'd use "borne." English is so very odd! What a crazy little rule. But fascinating!

One Little Adverb

Can the placement of one adverb change the course of history? Barack Obama felt that an adverb out of order was sufficiently egregious as to warrant a do-over to dispel any doubts that he was, in fact, president of the United States.

Because of Chief Justice John Roberts' incorrect prompt and nerves on the part of both men, Obama deviated from the exact order of the oath as proscribed in the Constitution. (View the flub and read more about it here.)

The Constitution reads:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Obama said:
I, Barack… I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear ... that I will execute … the office of president of the United States faithfully … and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God.

Does this misplacement mean, as some suggested, that Obama was not officially president? Obama technically became president at noon, before the oath was administered, and remained president with or without the oath. But why take any chances? The following day, Roberts and Obama gave the oath another try, this time without any hiccups.

Side note: Strict grammarians would argue that Roberts was right in finagling the adverbial information. After all, the Constitution's framers split the infinitive by inserting "faithfully" between the auxiliary verb "will" and the verb "execute." The New York Times offers some insight.

Concert of One, Part 2

It is not every day that I get a chance to pick on The New York Times Magazine -- a publication that boasts some of the world's most skilled copy editors. But it would seem even The Times fell victim to the "sole concerted effort." This passage appeared in a Jan. 6, 2009, article, "Who Would Jesus Smack Down."

Lately, he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language ...

"He" refers to one Mark Driscoll, a Neo-Calvinist preacher in the Seattle area. And unless he is channeling the Spirit to help him make amends, Driscoll apparently is alone in his efforts to tone down his language. As I've explained before, a "concerted" effort requires more than one participant. Amen.

Please????

I visited Kate in Ohio a few months ago, and unfortunately, the book I was reading at the time ended up staying a little longer. (I left it on her floor -- oops!) Kate was nice enough to take my book to the UPS Store and ship it back to me. She was also nice enough to take a photo of this sign:


Please no Cell Phone useage while at the counter receiving services????

1. What's with all the question marks? (???)
2. Interesting alternative spelling of "usage."
3. Apparently the Cell Phone is now a proper noun.
4. Is the counter receiving services, or is the cell phone user?
5. The ultimate irony: Kate took the photo with her cell phone. Ha!

Cry Wolf

Over the holiday, I visited the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona and learned about all kinds of interesting wildlife. I also learned that wolves don't know the difference between its and it's:

The maned wolf is sometimes called the fox-on-stilts. It's long legs help it to move around ... the tall grasses in it's grassland habitat.

That's twice in one sign. No wonder they are endangered.

Just for Fun

I'm not the only "fewer" fanatic.