-Words that have different meanings but sound the same and are spelt in similar ways can be tricky. A typical example of this is the words born and borne. I will outline below the specific meanings of these words, before demonstrating their correct usage with several different examples.
Born is the correct word to use to refer to birth, both in a literal and a figurative sense, and it also means resulting from or arising from/of. For instance, born is correct in sentences such as His good health was born of a varied diet, plenty of exercise and simple good fortune. It is also accurate in phrasal adjectives that indicate where a person was born; for example, London-born or Sweden-born.
Borne, spelt with an e, has the same meaning as carried. It is the proper participle corresponding to bear in situations that are not related to birth. It is used in phrasal adjectives, e.g. water-borne and mosquito-borne. It is also the correct word in the phrasal verb borne out; for example, Her fears were not borne out in reality.
Here are some examples of the correct usage of born:
- Yannick was born and raised in France but travelled to Canada to study Medicine.
- His decision to quit boxing was born of the desire to be fit and healthy in older age.
And here are some examples of borne used correctly:
- The band’s decision to write more melodic songs has borne fruit, as their number of fans has increased dramatically.
- It has to be borne in mind that well-funded groups will lobby for the retention of the current policy on gun ownership in the United States.
- All costs associated with the product recall will be borne by Nintendo and not their customers.
I hope that this article has been helpful for you. Of course, professional proofreaders know all of these handy little tips and many universities recommend that their students’ work is proofread by experts. Best of luck with your studies!