What’s the past tense of “deal”?
Did you deal the deck of cards, or were the cards dealt by you? Or is that the same sentence spun differently? The question: what’s the past tense of the present tense verb deal?
He dealt with the difficult customer yesterday.
They deal a major blow to their rivals last week.
Forms of the verb deal
To start with the definition, deal is a verb with a few meanings; one of which is as understood as, “if you make a deal, do a deal, or cut a deal, you complete an agreement or an arrangement with someone, especially in business”. Also, “if you deal playing cards, you give them out to the players in a game of cards.” (Collins Dictionary, deal).
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple | I deal | I dealt | I will deal |
| continuous | I am dealing | I was dealing | I will be dealing |
| perfect | I have dealt | I had dealt | I will have dealt |
| perfect continuous | I have been dealing | I had been dealing | I will have been dealing |
Is deal a regular or irregular verb?
The verb deal is irregular. Its past tense form is dealt, not dealed. Here’s a chart with verb forms similar to deal/dealt, in that they likewise have one past tense and past participle form (and are irregular verbs that do not end in “-ed”):
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| sleep | slept | slept |
| feel | felt | felt |
| kneel | knelt | knelt |
| build | built | built |
Deal/Dealt in sentence examples
Compare these sentences to understand the difference between dealt as a simple past tense and as a past participle:
| Word Form | Examples |
|---|---|
| Present Tense (“deal”) |
Whose turn is it to deal? Start by dealing out ten cards to each player. Who’s going to deal with this mess? |
| Simple Past (“dealt”) |
He dealt me two aces. She dealt out three sandwiches apiece. Her sudden death dealt a blow to the whole country. |
| Past Participle (“dealt”) |
It’s already been dealt with. I’ve dealt with things alright since the pandemic. The situation had already been dealt with when I arrived. |
Deal/dealt follows the same irregular pattern as feel/felt.
Synonyms of “deal”
| Synonym | Phrase with “deal” |
|---|---|
| arrangement | They made an arrangement/deal with the new supplier. |
| agreement | We reached an agreement/deal after hours of negotiation. |
| contract | The contract/deal was signed yesterday. |
| transaction | The transaction/deal went smoothly. |
| pact | They formed a pact/deal to support each other. |
| negotiation | The negotiation/deal took several weeks. |
Origin of the verb deal
| Of Germanic Origin |
|---|
| Old English dǣlan, from dǣl a part; compare Old High German teil a part, Old Norse deild a share. |
Worksheet: UK vs. US English past tense
According to the post, what is the simple past tense form of the verb “deal”?
Which sentence uses the simple past tense of “deal” correctly?
The post mentions a common mistake is using the base verb for the simple past tense. Which of these sentences makes that mistake?
Which sentence correctly uses “dealt” as a past participle?
Which sentence contains an incorrect form of the verb “deal” according to the examples in the post?
Her sudden death a blow to the whole country.
The complex issue has already been with by the manager.
They the cards face down at the start of the game.
It’s your turn to the cards.
The situation had already been with when I arrived.
FAQs
A: The past tense form of the verb “deal” is “dealt”. It follows an irregular pattern similar to “feel” and “felt”. For example, “He dealt with the difficult customer yesterday.”
A: ‘Dealt’ is used as a past participle with auxiliary verbs in perfect tenses and the passive voice. Examples include: “The poker chips were dealt out” (passive) or “She has dealt with that situation.”
A: Common errors include using the base form ‘deal’ for the simple past (“They deal a blow” – incorrect) or using the base form instead of ‘dealt’ for the past participle in perfect tenses (“She has dealt with that situation” is correct).
A: No, the verb ‘deal’ is irregular. Its past tense and past participle forms are ‘dealt’, not ‘dealed’. It follows the same irregular pattern as verbs like ‘feel’, which becomes ‘felt’.
A: Yes, ‘dealt’ is the simple past tense form of ‘deal’. You use it for actions completed in the past. For instance, the post gives the example: “She dealt us three sandwiches apiece.”
Sources
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Etymology online, origin of deal.
