Due and Owe

Due and Owe Due and Owe Due and Owe By Maeve Maddox Both due and owe have been in the language for a very long time. Due came into English from French in the 15th century. The French word it came from was the Latin verb debitum that gives us the word debt, â€Å"that which is owed.† As a noun, either singular or plural, due can mean â€Å"that which is owing.† One can pay one’s dues literally, as to a club, or figuratively, in the sense of working to get ahead in a profession, as in the headline â€Å"Ricky Gervais and David Chang Have Paid Their Dues.† The expression â€Å"to give a man his due,† means â€Å"to acknowledge a person’s merits, to do justice to a person.† The expression â€Å"to give the Devil his due,† means to give justice to a person for his merits even if he’s otherwise despicable, or if you don’t like him. As an adjective, due means â€Å"payable as a debt.† For example, â€Å"The mortgage payment is due tomorrow.† An expression that has been in the language since Chaucer’s day is â€Å"in due time† in the sense of â€Å"when sufficient time has passed†: â€Å"In due time everyone will know what happened.† Owe, in the sense of â€Å"possess† or â€Å"own† comes from a Germanic source. In some English dialects the word retains the meaning of ownership, but in standard English, the meaning has gone from the sense of â€Å"to possess† to that of â€Å"to be obliged to pay†; â€Å"Don’t forget the twenty dollars you owe me.† A similar word of Germanic origin that does retain the meaning of possession in modern English is own. As a verb, own means â€Å"to possess†: â€Å"He owns the bakery.† As an adjective, it follows a noun or pronoun: â€Å"Alfred’s own son was taken hostage.† As a pronoun, it follows a possessive: â€Å"The boy was given a horse of his own.† No doubt this discussion of due and owe will put some readers in mind of the debate that often arises regarding the proper distinction between the phrases â€Å"due to† and â€Å"owing to.† Refresher: Those who argue for a distinction between â€Å"due to† and â€Å"owing to† insist that â€Å"due to† is an adjective and â€Å"owing to† is adverbial. According to this position, it’s all right to say â€Å"He was late owing to an accident,† because â€Å"owing to an accident† tells why. â€Å"Due to† must be attached to a noun: â€Å"An accident due to carelessness made him late.† As far as general usage is concerned, the debate has become as futile as tussles over ending sentences with prepositions or splitting infinitives. According to the Penguin Writer’s Manual, not even grammarians can give a grammatical reason for insisting on the distinction: Most modern authorities recommend that the rule should be remembered, while acknowledging that its grammatical basis is shaky (there is no reason why â€Å"due to† should not be seen as a compound preposition if â€Å"owing to† is one) and that â€Å"due to† is so frequently used in the sense of â€Å"because of† that many modern dictionaries show it with that sense. The â€Å"due to/owing to† distinction is one of those things that people who feel strongly about it should observe without berating others for ignoring it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of InfinitivesWhat is the Difference Between Metaphor and Simile?Rite, Write, Right, Wright

Baby Quotes That Make All the Labor Pain Worth It

Baby Quotes That Make All the Labor Pain Worth It A baby in the house does make its presence felt. Its shrill cries, drooling mouth, smelly diapers, and gurgling laughter, can give any mother a feeling of ecstasy. There is no greater joy than watching a baby. A baby can make melt even the toughest heart. What makes a baby tug at our heartstrings? A baby has only one description. Cute! Babies make the cutest pictures. You can’t blame the newborn’s parents for suddenly metamorphosing into shutterbugs the moment they see their tiny tot smile, laugh or gurgle at them. You can’t help but notice  the innumerable baby pictures hanging on the walls of a pediatric hospital. When I was preparing for the birth of my first child, I was inundated with cute baby pictures cluttering my email box. It does not matter if this is your first baby or your fifth. Each baby brings its own share of pleasant surprises (and unpleasant ones) into your life. If you are expecting a baby, read some of these cute baby quotes to make that 1000-watt smile  brighter. Some of these baby quotes are so very true-to-life that you will find yourself completely agreeing with them. If one of your loved ones has just set out on the journey of parenthood, make their baby showers special with unique baby shower sayings. But if you’d rather stay out of all this baby fuss, just read and enjoy witty baby quotes in this collection. Mark TwainA baby is an inestimable blessing and bother.Tina BrownHaving a baby is like falling in love again, both with your husband and your child.BarrettoBabies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.Eleanor RooseveltI think, at a childs birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.Louisa May AlcottFather asked us, What was Gods noblest work? Anna said, Men, but I said Babies. Men are often bad, but babies never are.Henry David ThoreauEvery child begins the world again.Charles DickensEvery baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.Kate Douglas WigginEvery child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.Milton BerleIf evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?Robert OrbenI always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food.Ronald KnoxA baby is a loud noise at one end and no sense of responsibi lity at the other. Jayne MansfieldCarrying a baby is the most rewarding experience a woman can enjoy.Natalie WoodThe only time a woman really succeeds in changing a man is when he is a baby.T. S. EliotIf you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human being can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby it.William BlakeI have no name: I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am, Joy is my name. Sweet joy befall thee!Mark TwainMy mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.