English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
BIDE or BID?
You need to ~bid~ your time with this while waiting for what you want (nonstandard).
You need to bide your time with this while waiting for what you want (standard). To wait for an opportunity is to bide one’s time and the past tense is bided or bode.
She bided her time before she was finally employed. ✔️
She bode her time before she was finally employed. ✔️
I must ~bide~ her farewell (nonstandard).
I must bid her farewell (standard). To greet or say goodbye to someone is to bid them farewell. Note that the past tense is bid or bade (but not bided or bode).
I bid him farewell yesterday. ✔️
I bade him farewell yesterday. ✔️
Importantly, the “i” in “bide” is like the i in like, while the ‘i” in “bid” is like the i in hit.
GAB
