Usage - bare, bared, bore?

Started by Zeitgeist, November 15, 2011, 07:38:11 PM

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Zeitgeist

The past tense of bare is bared, right? Not bore?

The priestess let slip the raiment from her shoulders and bared her breasts to the light of the moon.

Sounds off to me, I want to say bore, but I don't think that is right. Thanks

Lord Mayerling

That is the correct usage of bared, the past tense of bare.

Zeitgeist

Quote from: Lord Mayerling on November 15, 2011, 07:40:39 PM
That is the correct usage of bared, the past tense of bare.

Yeah, I'm seeing that now, the more I dig. I guess I'll just have to live with it sounding funny to my ears. After all, it is correct, lol.

Star Safyre

To say she bore her breasts would mean her boobs find her dull or that she drilled holes in them.  If she got naked, she bared them.   :-)

/Englishteacher
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Zeitgeist

Quote from: Star Safyre on November 15, 2011, 07:43:08 PM
To say she bore her breasts would mean her boobs find her dull or that she drilled holes in them.  If she got naked, she bared them.   :-)

/Englishteacher

LOL I know. I got it right teach ;D

I must be thinking of another unrelated usage...bearing a burden. His whole life he bore the burden of tragic accident.

Please tell me you have a paddle, teach ;D

Star Safyre

Corporal punishment isn't my style.  I'm all about the positive reinforcement.  ;)

Yes, you were thinking of carrying a burden.  So if she had very heavy breasts that found her dull so she drilled holes in them, she would have bore them in all senses of the word.   *chuckle*
My heaven is to be with him always.
|/| O/O's / Plots / tumblr / A/A's |/|
And I am a writer, writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home
And I've written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones

Zeitgeist

Quote from: Star Safyre on November 15, 2011, 07:58:34 PM
Corporal punishment isn't my style.  I'm all about the positive reinforcement.  ;)

Yes, you were thinking of carrying a burden.  So if she had very heavy breasts that found her dull so she drilled holes in them, she would have bore them in all senses of the word.   *chuckle*

Oh, well they aren't quite that big and are in fact quite lovely I assure you. There will be no boring, or need of bores. Bared it is ;D

Beguile's Mistress

Could you say:  "...she lay bare her breasts..." as an alternative?

Zeitgeist

Quote from: Beguile's Mistress on November 15, 2011, 08:03:45 PM
Could you say:  "...she lay bare her breasts..." as an alternative?

Oh, I like that.

The priestess let slip the raiment from her shoulders and lay bare her breasts before the light of the moon.

Gods that's exciting. LOL

Beguile's Mistress

I think it's a little more lyrical. :-)

Zeitgeist

This is wholly self serving of me, but would a sticky thread devoted to questions of grammar be in order? I know for myself, I like to bounce off these short questions of usage and grammar, and it would seem to make sense to me to have a devoted thread, rather than post a new one for each question? I'd post it in Literary Discussion, but that board doesn't seem to get the same number of eyes, you know?

Oniya

Bore is also the past tense of to bear (as in to carry).  If she had been endowed with a G-cup, you might indeed say she 'bore' her breasts - with an air of long suffering.
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Zeitgeist

Quote from: Oniya on November 15, 2011, 08:17:24 PM
Bore is also the past tense of to bear (as in to carry).  If she had been endowed with a G-cup, you might indeed say she 'bore' her breasts - with an air of long suffering.

Hmm. That would afford more real estate for the cuniform scripts painted upon her breasts; odes and prayers to Nanna. But I'm getting ahead of myself. ;D

Thank you all.

Caeli

Quote from: Zeitgeist on November 15, 2011, 08:13:09 PM
This is wholly self serving of me, but would a sticky thread devoted to questions of grammar be in order? I know for myself, I like to bounce off these short questions of usage and grammar, and it would seem to make sense to me to have a devoted thread, rather than post a new one for each question? I'd post it in Literary Discussion, but that board doesn't seem to get the same number of eyes, you know?

I think that questions get more attention if they're posted in single threads (new ones for each new question) rather than in a thread devoted to the subject. Plus, as its own topic, you can specify your question in the title itself, so that members who have no interest in the question will not be bothered to check and see if they can help, while those who can help can see that at a glance.

Stickies should be things that people should read, and/or for important issues, and at this point, I think the Help forum has more than enough.
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Haibane

Quote from: Zeitgeist on November 15, 2011, 08:05:36 PM
Oh, I like that.

The priestess let slip the raiment from her shoulders and lay bare her breasts before the light of the moon.

Gods that's exciting. LOL
It's also a different tense. If you're writing in the past tense, simple or perfect then "she bared" is more correct. "She lay bare..." would be one of the forms of present tense (simple, I think) and would technically be incorrect.

The incorrect mixing of tenses is a thing that bothers me more than mis-spellings.

Caeli

I think using "laid bare" would correct the tense issue, if I'm not mistaken.
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Avis habilis

I think you're right. She might lay her bare breasts on something - why she would do that is left as an exercise for the reader - but if she's exposing herself she would have "laid bare".

Vandren

Quote from: Caeli on November 16, 2011, 09:14:53 AM
I think using "laid bare" would correct the tense issue, if I'm not mistaken.

Yep.  That is correct.

/English prof currently teaching remedial grammar this term  (grrrr)
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Beguile's Mistress

Thank you all for the grammar nudges. 

I hadn't looked at that side of it and was only offering a more elegant way of saying what needed to be said as I prefer elegance any day of the week. 

Zeitgeist

Ah! See I just took Beguile's Mistress word for it, by reputation alone ;)

So we have:

The priestess let slip the raiment from her shoulders and laid bare her breasts before the light of the moon.

And, I just wanted to say it again ;D

Beguile's Mistress

I do like it, too.  It's more in the nature of an offering than an aggressive showing.

jouzinka

Do you insist on bare in whatever form, Zam? :-)
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Zeitgeist

Quote from: jouzinka on November 16, 2011, 06:01:38 PM
Do you insist on bare in whatever form, Zam? :-)

Well one might assume her raiment fell to gather at her feet, but no, I imagined they caught around her curvaceous hips ;D

Malina

Maybe she also bore her breasts in the sense of enduring/carrying/supporting them (-> bear, bore, borne) ? ;D

jouzinka

Quote from: Zeitgeist on November 16, 2011, 06:05:57 PM
Well one might assume her raiment fell to gather at her feet, but no, I imagined they caught around her curvaceous hips ;D
No, not my trail of thought at all, I was just thinking that "bare" was such a harsh word.

The priestess let slip the raiment from her shoulders and unveiled her bosom (personal preference) to the silver light of the moon.

In that case and as a matter of personal preference, I'd probably re-work the "to the silver light of the moon" part as well to "under the soft silvery moonlight" or something to that effect. ;)
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