Bought vs Brought | Difference, Definition & Examples
The two verbs bought and brought are spelled and pronounced almost identically, and they are both the past tenses of irregular verbs. However, they are completely different words and cannot be used interchangeably.
- Bought is the simple past tense form and past participle of buy, meaning “purchase.”
- Brought is the simple past tense form and past participle of bring, meaning “carry or cause something to come with you.”
Sometimes the difference is not completely clear (e.g., in the sentence “Ali brought a new hat for everyone when she arrived,” we infer that Ali also bought the new hats). But that doesn’t mean that the words are synonyms.
| Bought in a sentence examples | Brought in a sentence examples |
|---|---|
| Yesterday I bought a new car. | The clear skies brought out all the sun worshippers! |
| Simone had bought the laptop 5 years ago, and it seemed very old now. | Emil had brought towels for everyone. |
| The receipt showed that the dress had been bought in a different store. | The departure time had been brought forward, and Alex nearly missed the flight! |
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using bought and brought correctly.
Bought meaning
The verb buy, meaning “purchase,” is irregular, so instead of adding “-ed” to form the past tenses, it changes to bought. This is true for both the simple past and the past participle.
| Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|
| Genna’s aunt came to her lemonade stand and bought the lot! | The assistant simply didn’t believe that Bill had bought the drill in that store. |
| The temporary fix to the pipework bought them some time. | By the time Sally had bought all the food for the party, she had spent a fortune. |
| The day my children were born, I went and bought all the daily newspapers. | Playing games wasn’t what the laptop had been bought for, but that’s what happened. |
Brought meaning
Bring is a verb meaning “carry with you to a place” or “bear.” It is an irregular verb, and its simple past tense form and past participle are brought.
| Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|
| The tasks were evenly shared, and everyone brought a dish to share. | “Let’s see what you’ve brought for the swap meet,” said Lorna. |
| “I see you brought your sense of humor!” Jan said when she saw my shirt. | Without fail, listening to the students’ presentations had always brought him joy. |
| The way the music brought them all together was almost magical. | Hans couldn’t believe that such a glittering career had been brought to an end by a simple act of foolishness. |
Frequently asked questions about bought vs brought
- What is the past tense of buy?
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The simple past tense form of the verb buy is bought. Buy is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tense.
Bought and brought are commonly confused words, but they can’t be used interchangeably. Brought is the past tense of the verb bring.
- Liam went to the shop and brought a new hoodie.
- Liam went to the shop and bought a new hoodie.
You can make sure you are using the correct past tense of buy with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
- Is buyed a word?
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Buyed is not recognized by dictionaries as a word in standard English. The simple past tense form of the verb buy is bought, and the past participle is also bought. Buy is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the regular pattern for forming the different tenses.
Bought and brought are commonly confused, but they are completely different words and cannot be used interchangeably.
You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you’re using the past tense of “buy” correctly.
- What is the past participle of buy?
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The past participle of the verb buy is bought. It is the same as the simple past tense form of the verb.
Bought and brought (the past tense of “bring”) are often confused. But they cannot be used interchangeably.
Buy is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tenses. The past participle is used to form the perfect tenses (e.g., “Have you bought any new shoes lately?”) and the passive voice (e.g., “There were no ice creams left—they had all been bought by the previous customer”).
You can ensure you’re using the past participle of “buy” correctly with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
