Beat past tense

Meaning of beat

to defeat someone in a competition, game, or battle.

Infinitive

Word: beat /biːt/

Examples:

1. I always beat you at chess, no matter how hard you try.
2. My heart beats fast whenever I think about the upcoming competition.
3. She beats the eggs vigorously to make a fluffy omelette.

Past Simple

Word: beat /biːt/

Examples:

1. The team beat their rivals in a thrilling match last night.
2. She beat the eggs vigorously to make the cake batter smooth.
3. He finally beat the high score on his favorite video game yesterday.

Past Participle

Word: beaten /ˈbiː.tən/

Examples:

1. The final essay question was beaten into shape after several hours of focused work.
2. By the world champion, the challenging course was easily beaten.
3. My old record in the game was finally beaten by my younger sibling.

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Bare infinitive

General truths or facts.
Example. 'The heart beats about 100,000 times a day.'
Example. 'The next match that features our team beats all in terms of excitement.'
Habits or routines.
Example. 'She beats the eggs every morning for her omelette.'
Example. 'The next match that features our team beats all in terms of excitement.'
Scheduled events in the near future (often for public transport, timetables, etc.).
Example. 'The next match that features our team beats all in terms of excitement.'

Past Simple

Completed actions in the past with no connection to the present.
Example. 'She beat the high score at the arcade last night.'
Example. 'He beat the dough, then let it rise for an hour.'
Example. 'When we were children, we often beat our opponents in the neighborhood soccer games.'
A sequence of actions in the past.
Example. 'He beat the dough, then let it rise for an hour.'
Example. 'When we were children, we often beat our opponents in the neighborhood soccer games.'
To talk about habits or general truths in the past (often with words like 'always,' 'often,' 'never').
Example. 'He beat the dough, then let it rise for an hour.'
Example. 'When we were children, we often beat our opponents in the neighborhood soccer games.'

Past Participle

Perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) to show actions that are complete at the time of speaking or relate to a time in the past or future.
Example. Present Perfect. 'They have never beaten us in chess.'
Example. Past Perfect. 'By the time we arrived, she had already beaten the record.'
Example. Future Perfect. 'They will have beaten all competitors by this time next year.'
Example. 'The world record was beaten last year.'
Example. 'He was beaten and tired after the long journey.'
Passive voice to talk about actions done to the subject rather than by the subject.
Example. Present Perfect. 'They have never beaten us in chess.'
Example. Past Perfect. 'By the time we arrived, she had already beaten the record.'
Example. Future Perfect. 'They will have beaten all competitors by this time next year.'
Example. 'The world record was beaten last year.'
Example. 'He was beaten and tired after the long journey.'
As an adjective to describe a state resulting from a past action.
Example. Present Perfect. 'They have never beaten us in chess.'
Example. Past Perfect. 'By the time we arrived, she had already beaten the record.'
Example. Future Perfect. 'They will have beaten all competitors by this time next year.'
Example. 'The world record was beaten last year.'
Example. 'He was beaten and tired after the long journey.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing forms

One of the most common mistakes is confusing the past simple form 'beat' with its past participle form, which is also 'beat'. Since they are identical in appearance, learners often mistakenly believe they need to change the form for the past participle, or they might use another verb form entirely when trying to construct perfect tenses or passive voice sentences. For example, instead of correctly using 'has beaten' in a sentence like 'He has beaten the record,' someone might incorrectly say 'He has beat the record,' misunderstanding that 'beaten' is the required past participle form for this context.

— 02

Incorrect use in Perfect Tenses

Another frequent error involves the misuse of 'beat' in perfect tenses. Because 'beat' retains the same form for its past simple and past participle, learners sometimes forget to use 'have' or 'has' with 'beaten' when forming present perfect sentences. For instance, they might say 'I beat the game yesterday,' when they mean to use the present perfect due to the relevance of the action to the present moment and should say, 'I have beaten the game.'

— 03

Misapplication in Passive Voice

The third common mistake is misapplying the verb form in passive voice constructions. Since the past participle form 'beaten' is necessary for forming passive sentences, incorrectly using the simple past 'beat' can lead to grammatical errors. For example, saying 'The record was beat by him' instead of the correct 'The record was beaten by him' demonstrates this error. Understanding that 'beaten' is the correct form to use in passive voice is crucial for accurate sentence construction.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'beat'?

The past simple form of 'beat' is 'beat.' It is one of those irregular verbs in English where the past simple form does not change from its base form. For example, 'Yesterday, I beat my personal record in running.'

What is the past participle form of 'beat'?

The past participle form of 'beat' is also 'beaten.' This form is used with auxiliary verbs to create perfect tenses or the passive voice. For example, 'The world record has been beaten.'

How do I use 'beat' in the past perfect tense?

To use 'beat' in the past perfect tense, you combine 'had' with the past participle 'beaten.' This tense is used to discuss an action that was completed before another action in the past. For example, 'By the time the new player joined, the team had already beaten the toughest opponents.'

Can you provide an example of 'beat' in a passive voice sentence?

Yes, in the passive voice, 'beat' is used with auxiliary verbs like 'be' or 'get' along with the past participle 'beaten.' For example, 'The champion was beaten in a surprising turn of events.' This sentence emphasizes the action and the subject receiving the action rather than who performed the action.