Past Tense for Bite: Bited or Bit? (Pronunciation & Usage)

By Benjamin Essek

What Is The Past Tense For Bite?

The bite past tense is “bit”. The bite verb is classified as an irregular form, so it doesn’t follow the rule of adding -ed after the verb’s basic form. 

After remembering the past tense of bite, you continue to pocket past participle bite – bitten, and other bite verb forms.

Simple Present He/She/It bites

I/You/We/They bite

Present Continuous He/She/It is biting

I am biting

You/We/They are biting

Present Perfect He/She/It has bitten

I/You/We/They have bitten

Present Perfect Continuous He/She/It has been biting

I/You/We/They have been biting

Simple Past He/She/It/I/You/We/They bit
Past Continuous I/He/She/It was biting

You/We/They were biting

Past Perfect He/She/It/I/You/We/They had bitten
Past Perfect Continuous He/She/It/I/You/We/They had been biting
Simple Future He/She/It/I/You/We/They will/shall bite
Future Continuous He/She/It/I/You/We/They will/shall be biting
Future Perfect He/She/It/I/You/We/They will/shall have bitten
Future Perfect Continuous He/She/It/I/You/We/They will/shall have been biting

To know how to spell bite in past tense (bit) correctly and naturally, you can click on this video to pronounce it like a native speaker:

 

Pronunciation

According to the Macmillan dictionary, the IPA transcription of bit – the past tense of bite in English is /bɪt/. The participle of bite is pronounced as /ˈbɪt(ə)n/. You can take a glimpse at the table below to make it clearer.

Form of word

Pronunciation 

US

UK
bite /baɪt/

/baɪt/

bit /bɪt/ /bɪt/
bitten /ˈbɪt(ə)n/

/ˈbɪt(ə)n/

Definitions And How To Use Bit?

The verb form of “bite” has main meanings:

  • To cut into or cut through something or someone by their teeth.

Example: After an intense afternoon class with no breaks, he came home, got a bite of doughnut, then found an apple on the table and immediately bit into it.

  • To make a hole or mark in their skin (to hurt someone)

Example: Some European garden spiders bit, so gardeners chased them away or killed them.

  • If a fish bites, it swallows the food from the end of the fishing line (the hook), and the fisherman can catch it.

Example: The fish bitten even the hook is too big.

  • To get a severe or unpleasant effect

Example: The 2018 financial report said the recession bit, and consumers should prepare.

  • To show one’s interest in buying something

Example: Last month, the store’s new service was not available but clients still bit them, even without any promotions.

The bite past tense meaning is the same as the V1 form, but it’s used to describe the action that happened in the past, before the time of speaking.

Examples:

  • She bit a piece of pear and put it back in the fridge before her mom got home.
  • Many fish bit yesterday because Bob and his friends have good baits and strong bite indicators.
  • Yesterday she bit into ice cream at Frosty Bite and felt that her teeth were a bit loose. Thus, she had to meet a doctor to take a bitewing.

Exercises

0
Created on By Benjamin

Past Tense For Bite

Choose the correct verb tense to fill in the blanks:

1 / 8

He …… a piece of bread, took a quick sip of milk, and quickly ran out of the house to go to school for fear of being late. Oh! There was a badminton lesson today, but he left his racquet home!

2 / 8

Most of the insects in this forest will …… people who pass by. If you want to visit this forest, you need to be equipped with protective suits and insect repellents.

3 / 8

Hanna: The fish aren't …… today! I got nothing today.

Billy: I just caught a box of fish here! Maybe you should practice fishing more.

Hanna: I don't think I'm suitable for this sport. How about going skiing at the weekend?

4 / 8

Gloom, but not doom, when recession …… in 2021. The economy has taken a heavy toll when it comes to post-pandemic damage. The health system has also collapsed after a long time fighting the epidemic.

5 / 8

Traveling in European countries has …… him since he was little. That passion is still intact, so whenever he has the opportunity, he always takes advantage of it to visit as many countries as possible.

6 / 8

Undersea explorers have discovered several anchors ...... in the ocean floor. It is said that these anchors ...... the floor hundreds of years ago.

7 / 8

Yesterday there were no fish ...... on my hook, but today there are many because I feed them sardines and anchovies.

8 / 8

An insect ...... my shoulder yesterday. The insect bite is still not completely healed, and my shoulder is very stooped now. This fight bite will probably take a few more days to heal.

Your score is

The average score is 0%

0%

FAQs

What Are Synonyms And Antonyms Of Bite?

Common synonyms of “bite” are sting, prick, sink one’s teeth into, chew, munch, crunch, tear at, masticate, nibble at, gnaw at, grip, and hold.

Retreat, flee, recede, scarper, skedaddle, scram, shrink, back away, and back off are named antonyms of “bite”.

“Bite” Is a Transitive Or Intransitive Verb?

“Bite” is both a transitive and intransitive verb and has the same means: to use teeth to cut something. As an intransitive verb, you can understand it as wound or sting. The remaining meanings belong to the transitive verb.

Bite Or Bit?

The past tense bite is wrong. Bite is the finite verb, used for 1st person singular. The past tense of bite in English is “bit”. To get the past tense of bite, you just need to remove the last letter of the word to get the bit.