Bought vs Brought
Bought and Brought are two completely different words that look and sound alike. Bought is the past and past participle form of the verb buy (as in purchase), while brought is the past, and past participle form of the verb bring. Buy and bring – clearly, they have nothing to do with one another. But by coincidence, their past and past participle forms look and sound alike.
Here are some definitions and examples to help make the use of these words clearer.
Bought (verb)
Past and past participle form of the verb buy.
Examples:
Last Christmas, my girlfriend bought me my favorite cologne.
As a single person, I have bought my own birthday flowers for the last ten years.
In the example sentences above, the word bought is the main verb of the sentence. In the first sentence, it is in the past form. In the second sentence, it is in the past participle form. The past participle form is identified because it uses the helping verb “have” in front of it. The verb “have bought” is the present perfect tense.
Brought (verb)
Past and past participle form of the verb bring
Examples:
I brought all the pies for Thanksgiving at my parent’s house: pumpkin, pecan, and apple!
The soccer players had brought their lucky jerseys to the regional finals.
In these examples, the word brought is the verb of the sentence. In the first example, it is in the past tense. In the second example, it is in the past perfect tense. Because the helping verb “had” is in front of it, it is the past participle form (which is the same as the past form).
Main Points
- Bought is past and past participle form of the verb buy.
- Brought is the past and past participle form of the verb bring.
- Bought comes from buy – no R.
- Brought comes from bring – both have an R.