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Bid, Bid, Bade
Do Not Hasten to Bid
By Evan Jenkins
The picture showed a uniformed man hugging a woman, and the caption said he
"bid farewell to his wife." One way or another, "bid" wasn't a great choice. If the caption style required the present tense, "bids" was the word. If style wanted past tense, the choice was "bade."
"Bid" is an unusual verb in that its past tense varies with context. For financial matters, literal or figurative, the past tense is "bid" - at the auction, she bid on the painting; he bid for a role in the production. "Bid" is also the past tense for what bridge players do.
And some prefer "bid" for all occasions. But for greetings and partings and commands, "bade" is preferable - the prime minister bade the president welcome, they bade us adieu, she bade him go and never darken her door again.
Maintaining profoundly artificial differences like those between “more than” and “over” is silly (CJR, Jan./Feb. 1997; see also More Than/Over). Preserving the age-old difference between “bid” and “bade” is rather nice, somehow. Modestly, forgivably erudite.
CJR
