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bare  –  bear

[‘bear’ has the same pronunciation as ‘bare’]

bare bodies

“Bare” as an adjective means ‘without cover or clothes; naked; empty; without any support, etc.’; and as a verb it means ‘to remove the cover of something to show (expose) it (bare-bared-bared)’,

breaking bricks with bare hands

e.g.

He killed the lion with his bare hands.

[i.e. without using any weapon – gun, sword, spear, etc]

The nurse bared the patient for check-up.

[i.e. took off the patient’s clothes]

“Bear” as a noun, means ‘a large animal with thick rough hair (fur)’; and as a verb it means

(a) ‘to behave or conduct in a special way’,

bear a child

(b) ‘to give birth to the young’,

(c) ‘to keep some important point in mind’,

(d) ‘to suffer’,

can bear a lot weight

(e) ‘to carry — bear – bore – born/borne’,

e.g.

Teachers bear a lot of responsibility in building up a nation.

Bear in mind that you should never talk to elders rudely.

The King’s youngest wife has borne him another child; now he is the father of sixty children!

[please refer to ‘bore – bore’ & ‘born – borne’]

Common Errors:

1.

She can’t bear if someone starts to floss their teeth in her presence.  [wrong]

She can’t bear it if someone starts to floss their teeth in her presence.  [right]

2.

He wants to get married and bear children.  [wrong]

He wants to get married and have children.  [right]

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