"got bit by" and "got bitten by"

[Unregistered]

"got bit by" and "got bitten by", are they both right?

thanks in advance!

 

[Daruma]

Only "got bitten by" is correct.

 

[eng1]

Both are correct.

bite definition | Dictionary.com

 

[bhaisahab]

"got bit by" and "got bitten by", are they both right?

thanks in advance!

Only 'got bitten' is correct. 'Got' is replacing 'have been' and takes the past participle 'bitten'.

 

[grm]

bite - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Inflected Form(s):
bit \ˈbit\ ; bit·ten \ˈbi-tən\ also bit; bit·ing
Getting Down and Dirty in an Underground River in Puerto Rico - New York Times
I just got bit by a scorpion.

 

[Raymott]

bite - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Inflected Form(s):
bit \ˈbit\ ; bit·ten \ˈbi-tən\ also bit; bit·ing
Getting Down and Dirty in an Underground River in Puerto Rico - New York Times
I just got bit by a scorpion.

Rossano Boscarino from Puerto Rico says "I just got bit by a scorpion", and you think it worth posting here?
As Merriam-Webster indicates, the form is bite/bit/bitten (present/past/past participle).
"got bit" is wrong, and I don't care how big Rossano is. In any case, he'd just been bitten by a scorpion, so his English probably wasn't his priority.

 

[grm]

As Merriam-Webster indicates, the form is bit/bit/bitten (present/past/past participle)

Does bit mean bite in present tense? Does Merriam-Webster really indicate that?

Is Google Books a bit more academic?
http://books.google.com.au/books?as...s=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_isbn=&as_issn=

 

[Raymott]

Does bit mean bite in present tense? Does Merriam-Webster really indicate that?

Is Google Books a bit more academic?

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant bite/bit/bitten. (I've corrected it).

You can post as many examples of bad English, or regional or archaic English as you can find, but that doesn't change what is correct in standard English. Sometimes there are legitimate differences in standard English such as British "got" and American "gotten". But "I got bit" is not correct in standard English. And that's what we try to teach here, for the benefit of those who want to, or have to, learn it.

Some of the books listed are novels with obviously incorrect English:
en he got bit by a spider er sump'n, en his foot is swoll' up so he can't
walk. En he ax' me fer ter fin' you en fetch you down dere ter he'p 'im home
Some of the books are lists of what has been used by some people, and there is no doubt that some people, like our bitten friend Rossano, have said "I got bit".

Also, this thread will be added to Google, and there will be yet one more example of "I got bit" on the records. But it doesn't matter how many instances of the same error there are, you can't use them to prove it right.

 

[grm]

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant bite/bit/bitten. (I've corrected it).

In that case, maybe you should ask Webster's to correct their definition:
Main Entry:bite
Pronunciation:\ˈbīt\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
bit \ˈbit\ ; bit·ten \ˈbi-tən\ also bit; bit·ing \ˈbī-tiŋ\

By the way, when you say "And that's what we try to teach here, for the benefit of those who want to, or have to, learn it."

Since I am new here, I wonder if what you said represents this forum?

 

[Raymott]

In that case, maybe you should ask Webster's to correct their definition:
Main Entry:bite
Pronunciation:\ˈbīt\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
bit \ˈbit\ ; bit·ten \ˈbi-tən\ also bit; bit·ing \ˈbī-tiŋ\

OK, I see your point. Websters accepts 'bit' as a past participle.
The only explanation I can give is that since Websters is an American dictionary, and dictionaries tend to be descriptive, not prescriptive, enough Americans must use it wrongly that they've decided to list it.
'Bit' as a past participle doesn't occur in the British and Australian dictionaries I have access to.

Perhaps what we need is some American forum members to comment on this. If one or two say that they use 'bit', I'll upgrade it in my personal grammar to "arguably Standard, but best avoided in good company" :-D

 

[konungursvia]

I think it's analogous to get/got/gotten vs get/got/got, the -ten form (called "strong" because it survived) is slowly ebbing out of the language for many verbs, and this has been going on for some time, being replaced by "weak" participles which merely mimic the preterite, unable to stand their ground in their original form.

But I agree it sounds more correct in the older form.

 

[bhaisahab]

I think it's analogous to get/got/gotten vs get/got/got, the -ten form (called "strong" because it survived) is slowly ebbing out of the language for many verbs, and this has been going on for some time, being replaced by "weak" participles which merely mimic the preterite, unable to stand their ground in their original form.

I suppose that you are referring to AmE. I haven't noticed any 'ebbing away' in BrE, in use or in dictionaries.

 

[konungursvia]

Well, maybe you're not old enough. Many verbs for which the preterite and participle are the same exhibit the weak form, having had an older participle which has already passed out of usage.

I'll try and think of some examples.

 

[Raymott]

Well, maybe you're not old enough.

Doesn't bhaisahab, from his avatar, look old enough to have read every dictionary extant?
Sorry, bhai ;-)

 

[konungursvia]

He'd have to have a 25 ft beard to be old enough to remember the verbs I'm talking about. I believe the infinitive in Middle English (Chaucer's time) went like this:

to dronken (>to drink) and the participle was simply the bare infinitive, for most verbs.

Then some got shortened.

 

[Offroad]

COCA says either 'got bit by' or 'got bitten by' is possible in AmE. BNC says that only 'got bitten by' is possible.

EDIT:
BUT... The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and The Free Dictionary .com say that only 'bitten' is possible

 

[Raymott]

COCA says either 'got bit by' or 'got bitten by' is possible in AmE. BNC says that only 'got bitten by' is possible.

EDIT:
BUT... The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and The Free Dictionary .com say that only 'bitten' is possible

The Free Dictionary that I read says 'bit' is right too:
bite - definition of bite by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

I don't know about the other one, but it's very unlikely they'd go out of their way to say that only 'bitten' is possible. Do you mean that 'bit' is not listed as a past participle?

 

[Offroad]

hmm... my bad. Sorry.:-?

So, sounds like both are possible in AmE and only 'bitten' in BrE.

Do you agree?

 

[opa6x57]

I AM NOT A TEACHER...

I recall my English teacher saying, "If the dictionary uses the word also, then that usage is NOT standard. If, however, the dictionary uses the word or, then either would be acceptable in standard usage."


bite/bit/bitten also bit (indicates that bit is not standard)
vs.
bite/bit/bitten or bit (indicates that either bit or bitten is acceptable in standard usage)