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What’s the Past Tense of Bet? Bet or Betted?

For the safe bet, stick to bet. Bet uses one form for the most part, and is just bet. Betted is a nonstandard past form of bet (present tense).

The irregular verb, bet, in text conversation.
The irregular verb, bet, in text conversation.



Bet or betted? What’s the past tense of “bet”?

The word (and verb) bet, which is defined in the Oxford Learner’s dictionary as, “to risk money on a race or an event by trying to predict the result “, mostly uses one form for all its tense and participle forms, i.e., bet. Simply put, the safe bet is to stick to bet as both the simple past and past participle forms of bet. Betted, though sometimes accepted, is for the most part considered archaic and nonstandard.



Verb tenses of “bet”

presentpastfuture
simpleI betI betI will bet
continuousI am bettingI was bettingI will be betting
perfectI have betI had betI will have bet
perfect continuousI have been bettingI had been bettingI will have been betting
12 tenses of ‘bet‘.


Bet is in the present tense: She bet me £20 (that) I wouldn’t do it.

Bets is third-person present singular: She bets on her favorite team to win every game.

Will bet is future tense: I’ll bet that actor wins the award!

Betting is the present participle: She is always betting on sports events.

Bet is the simple past: I bet against the favorite and I lost.  

Bet is also the past participle form of the verb:  I hadn’t placed the bet hoping it would come to fruition.

 

Single-form verbs

See other irregular verbs with one form to denote the present and past tense:


base verbpast tensepast participle
cutcutcut
burstburst burst
betbet bet
shutshut sunk
hithit hit
setsetset
Irregular verbs (with one present, past and past participle form).

Examples of sentences with “bet”

1. I’m willing to bet (that) the analysts will be wrong.

2. You can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be late.

3. ‘She’ll soon get used to the idea.’ ‘I wouldn’t bet on it.’  

4.You can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be late.

5. ‘Are you nervous?’ ‘You bet!’

Examples of “bet” in the past tense (in sentences)

1. I bet against the favorite and I lost.

2. I bet my life that he said it.

3. He bet $5 on the game.

4. Before that, the firm made bets on the likes of ClassPass and Equinox.

5. I bet Tom that he could not run as fast as Joe.

Examples of the participle bet (in sentences)

1. Jim had bet twenty dollars that he would complete the test on time.

2. I’ll bet that he makes the next shot.

3. He and his brother had bet about who can finish his chores first.

4. She was really uneasy until he explained that, in imitation of older ones, he had bet some cents on Burlingame and had won.

5. He had bet on the game to win; unfortunately, it failed miserably.

Origin of the word/verb bet

From dictionary.com on bet (v.):

C16: probably short for abet.

Synonyms of bet

  • wager
  • stake
  • gamble
  • risk

Phrases/idioms with bet

expressionmeaning
I wouldn’t bet on it to believe something is unlikely to happen.
bet your dollars to doughnuts to be so certain something will happen that you’d wager something more valuable to something less valuable.
bet a huckleberry to a persimmonto wager a small amount.
to hedge your bets take action to offset potential negative results.
to bet on the wrong horse to support the wrong thing/something that didn’t prove successful.
you can bet on it! you can be sure of something.
bet your farm on it to be absolutely certain something will happen.
all bets are off!to say a turn of events, that something is unpredictable.

‍‍

Other commonly confused verb tenses

Learn more about verbs

Sources  

‍1. “Bet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bet. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.

2. Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of bet.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/seek. Accessed 15 February, 2023.

3. COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY – COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED 2012 DIGITAL EDITION © WILLIAM COLLINS SONS & CO. LTD. 1979, 1986 © HARPERCOLLINS

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