'I don't know how many more sleepless nights I can bear'.

Choose the statement(s) below which use the verb 'to bear' correctly.

There may be more than one correct answer!

I bear Madchester Football Club, but I like watching other teams play too.

The neighbours can't bear it when you play the guitar at 3 AM.

You can hardly bear on your feet! You should sit down and rest.

We must bear in mind that English isn't his mother tongue.

Philip came to the party bearing wonderful gifts for all the women.

'I don't know how many more sleepless nights I can bear'.

Choose the statement(s) below which use the verb 'to bear' correctly.

There may be more than one correct answer!

I bear Madchester Football Club, but I like watching other teams play too.

This is incorrect. The sentence should read 'I support Madchester Football Club...'. To 'support' in this context is to 'follow' or 'be a fan of'. Although in another context, 'to bear' shares a similar meaning with 'to support' (in the sense of 'tolerating' something), the term cannot replace 'to support' in the sense of 'encouraging' or 'being a fan'.

The neighbours can't bear it when you play the guitar at 3 AM.

This is correct. In this context, the verb 'to bear' means 'to tolerate'. 'I can't bear it' is a common idiom which expresses that something is 'intolerable' or 'unacceptable'. Example: 'I can't bear to see you cry'. 'To bear' is used the same way in this sentence as it is in Icarus' email. When Icarus writes 'I don't know how many more sleepless nights I can bear', he is expressing that he can no longer tolerate being unable to sleep (the legal situation has been troubling Icarus).

You can hardly bear on your feet! You should sit down and rest.

This is an incorrect use of the term 'to bear'. As a verb, 'to bear' means either 'to carry' or 'to tolerate'. A correct way to express the idea of 'standing' or 'remaining erect' would be to say: 'You can hardly stay (or stand) on your feet'.

We must bear in mind that English isn't his mother tongue.

This is correct. 'To bear (something) in mind' is an expression similar in meaning to the verb 'to remember', however it also expresses the sense of 'remaining aware (of something)'. Example: 'In the future, please bear in mind the time difference when you call me from Japan'. Note that this is a different use of the term than in the email.

Philip came to the party bearing wonderful gifts for all the women.

This is correct. In this context, 'to bear' shares a similar meaning with 'to carry' or 'to hold'. Example: 'The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms'. This is a different use of the term than in Icarus' email.

To bear meaning in English

Definition

Examples

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