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Lmh0825 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
about the usage of bite
When I googled "has bit the girl" and "has bitten the girl", the former had 3 hits, while the latter had 387 hits.
Also when I googled "was bit by a dog" and "was bitten by a dog", the former had 331,000 hits, while the latter had 2,180,000 hits.
In addition, In British English Dictoinaries like "Oxford, Longman, and Collins" the conjugation of bite is "bite-bit-bitten". That is, "bit" is only used for past tense, and not as past participle.
On the contrary, Webster, an American English Dictionary, has both "bitten" and "bit" as past particple.
So I guess the usage is different from place to place, and also in active voice, "bitten" is much preferred to "bit" as past participle. In passive voice, however, "bitten" is less preferred than in active voice, but still peferred to "bit" a lot.
So my question is,
first, whether, in a school in Britain, if there shoud be a question about the conjugation of the verb "bite", and you should argue that the past participle of "bite" is "bit" instead of "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
second, whether, in a school in a country where English is not used as a first or a second language but only taught as a foreign language, if you shoud be asked whether the past participle of the verb "bite" is "bit" or not, and you should say that the past participle of "bite" is not "bit" but "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
Also when I googled "was bit by a dog" and "was bitten by a dog", the former had 331,000 hits, while the latter had 2,180,000 hits.
In addition, In British English Dictoinaries like "Oxford, Longman, and Collins" the conjugation of bite is "bite-bit-bitten". That is, "bit" is only used for past tense, and not as past participle.
On the contrary, Webster, an American English Dictionary, has both "bitten" and "bit" as past particple.
So I guess the usage is different from place to place, and also in active voice, "bitten" is much preferred to "bit" as past participle. In passive voice, however, "bitten" is less preferred than in active voice, but still peferred to "bit" a lot.
So my question is,
first, whether, in a school in Britain, if there shoud be a question about the conjugation of the verb "bite", and you should argue that the past participle of "bite" is "bit" instead of "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
second, whether, in a school in a country where English is not used as a first or a second language but only taught as a foreign language, if you shoud be asked whether the past participle of the verb "bite" is "bit" or not, and you should say that the past participle of "bite" is not "bit" but "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
Top answer
lmh0825 first, whether, in a school in Britain, if there should be a question about the conjugation of the verb "bite", and you should argue that the past participle of "bite" is "bit" instead of "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect. I doubt it, but wait for a Brit. lmh0825 second, whether, in a school in a country where English is not used as a first or a second language but only taught as a foreign language, if you should be asked whether the past participle of the verb "bite" is "bit" or not, and you should say that the past participle of "bite" is not "bit" but "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
- lmh0825 first, whether, in a school in Britain, if there should be a question about the conjugation of the verb "bite", and you should argue that the past participle of "bite" is "bit" instead of "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
- I doubt it, but wait for a Brit.
- lmh0825 second, whether, in a school in a country where English is not used as a first or a second language but only taught as a foreign language, if you should be asked whether the past participle of the verb "bite" is "bit" or not, and you should say that the past participle of "bite" is not "bit" but "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.
- *** only knows.
- Some schools are prescriptive and some are not.
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22 Answers
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lmh0825first, whether, in a school in Britain, if there should be a question about the conjugation of the verb "bite", and you should argue that the past participle of "bite" is "bit" instead of "bitten", your answer will be regarded as correct or incorrect.I doubt it, but wait for a Brit.
lmh0825second, whether, in a school in
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Thanks for the answer, Mister Micawber.
Again, one more question...
If a British student just transferred to a school in a country where American English is regarded as standard English, and as soon as he arrives, on an English exam, the student were asked to judge whether "bite-bit-bit", the American form of the conjugation of the verb "bite", is a correct form or not, should he be
Again, one more question...
If a British student just transferred to a school in a country where American English is regarded as standard English, and as soon as he arrives, on an English exam, the student were asked to judge whether "bite-bit-bit", the American form of the conjugation of the verb "bite", is a correct form or not, should he be
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lmh0825, does the school have the right to impose the American way as a standard form on the people here and judge them based on just one dialect of English?Now you are into a legal topic. If you wish to sue to have your grade raised even though you used the 'wrong' participle, there will be an American lawyer eager to take your case.
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It's "bitten" here, too. "Bit" is non-standard in American English. Some dictionaries will include "bit" because people say it quite commonly in some places.
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For your information, I am not a student. So I have no direct stake in this. But as a teacher, I don't think these variations in the conjugation of the verb should be a matter of right and wrong but a matter of mutual respect. Therefore, I believe these differences should not be used for questions in a standard English test in a way one or the other side could be regarded as "wrong".
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enoonIt's "bitten" here, too. "Bit" is non-standard in American English. Some dictionaries will include "bit" because people say it quite commonly in some places.Do the dictionaries you looked in list it as "non-standard"? The one I use doesn't. I use "bitten" most of the time myself, but I won't argue with a dictionary.
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Now I'm a little curious. Would some Americans say 'Once bit, twice shy'?
Clive
Clive
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BarbaraPA enoonIt's "bitten" here, too. "Bit" is non-standard in American English. Some dictionaries will include "bit" because people say it quite commonly in some places.Do the dictionaries you looked in list it as "non-standard"? The one I use doesn't. I use "bitten" most of the time myself, but I won't argue with a dictionary.The Shorter Oxford doe
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CliveNow I'm a little curious. Would some Americans say 'Once bit, twice shy'?CliveNo, I wouldn't.
But "He/she was bit by..." doesn't sound too weird and Google does list much closer numbers for "S/he was bit" and "bitten" than a "non-standard" use would suggest.
Sneaked/snuck, dived/dove -- There are a lot of words that have variation in one o
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