Bought | brought
Video: Brought or bought? from Australia Plus (new tab). (Watching time: 34secs)
Brought and bought are both the past simple and past participle forms of their respective (irregular) verbs, (← What does this mean? Rules for understanding irregular verbs in English.) and they sound very similar.
Bought
Past simple of buy.
In the past Russia bought New Zealand dairy products by exchanging them for Russian-made motor vehicles.
I had already bought the takeaways when I was told there would be no-one at home for dinner
Idioms with buy:
There are some unusual things that you can buy (metaphorically) (or which don't mean actually using money). [To see the meaning of these uses of "buy" hover over or click the bold words below for a pop-up explanation.)
buy trouble | buy (more) time | buy a pup/dog/lemon | buy the farm
Brought
Past of bring
They haven't brought their lunch, but it's okay because we've got plenty to spare.
Each participant brought a unique skill that was needed by the group.
Complete the quiz items below to see if you have understood this lesson. Then click the blue arrow at the bottom of the page to check your answers.
Instructions: Hover or tap the questions below to see the reason for the answers given in the quiz.
1. All of the sentences below are grammatically viable, but only two involve making a purchase. Instructions: Select those two.
☐ i) He brought his ration coupons and swapped them for vegetables.☐ ii) We were relieved when Max stopped and bought some food.
☐ iii) Until the advent of the Internet, he had bought a newspaper every day of his working life.
☐ iv) She brought her card and then everyone present signed their name on it.
ii) ... bought some food ✔ ii) ... bought a newspaper... ✔
Why: Both these answers are the past of buy. NB: No 'r' in the spelling.
2. Insert the correct form of the appropriate verb. Is it buy or bring?
Tom _______ a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, which was greatly appreciated.
brought ✔
Why: A person brings a wealth of knowledge (never buys)... and the past of bring is brought.
3. Which one of the following sentences suggests that money changed hands?
❍ i) I bought my lunch and then raced off to my lectures.
❍ ii) I brought my lunch and then raced off to my lecturers.
i) bought ✔
Why: The first means to purchase my lunch (with money), the second means to carry it.
4. Insert the correct form of the appropriate verb.
Should you choose the past form of 'buy' or 'bring'?
Last minute dealings _________ the company more time
bought ✔
Why: There was a note in the lesson about idiom using the word "buy"