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Let's say my friend and I want to bet that something will happen, say, he says his favorite team will win, and I say it will lose. If his team wins, then he will have to make dinner for me, and if it lose, it is the other way around. How do I suggest in English that the prise is dinner? Which one of the following sentences sound the most natural?

Let's bet dinner?

Let's bet on dinner?

Let's bet for dinner?

I will bet you dinner that your team will lose.

What would a native English speaker would say that?

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"Let's bet dinner" and "I will bet you dinner that..." both sound natural to me (Br.Eng)

"Let's bet on dinner" doesn't work, because it suggests dinner is the subject of the bet, rather than the prize. Like you are betting on whether dinner turns out to be pasta or hamburgers.

"Let's bet for dinner" does not sound natural to me, although I am struggling to explain why.

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Usage of bet:

1) VERB + BET have, make, place, put I'm going to place a bet on that white horse. | accept, take We are now taking bets on the election result.

2) PREP. ~ on I had a bet on the three o'clock race. | ~ with I made a bet with a friend.

3) PHRASES do sth for a bet, my bet is/it is my bet (that) … My bet is that Liverpool will win.

(Oxford collocation dictionary)

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  • That's a noun. They're asking about a verb.
    – user3395
    Jan 25, 2020 at 19:36
  • Thank you for reminding me how to use "bet", but I am well aware of those uses. What I wanted to know is how to communicate the idea in my question Jan 25, 2020 at 19:39
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    "Do you want a bet? Spurs will win. [The] loser cooks dinner." Or: Person A: Spurs will beat Chelsea today. Person B: No they won't. Person A: Want to bet? Loser cooks dinner (or buys the beers, drives home, etc). Person B: Yes! Jan 25, 2020 at 21:36
  • "Dinner at [name of favourite expensive restaurant] says [x will happen]". In truth there are almost as many ways of describing a bet as there are ways of saying that someone is drunk.
    – JeremyC
    Jan 25, 2020 at 22:52

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