Bought or Brought?

What Is the Difference between "Bought" and "Brought"?

"Bought" and "brought" are easily confused because they sound so similar.

• "Bought" is the past tense of "to buy." For example:
• I bought a new laptop.
• "Brought" is the past tense of "to bring." For example:
• James brought the birthday cake to the restaurant this morning.

Bought

"Bought" is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb "to buy."

Example sentences with "bought":

• I bought a seven-dollar pen because I always lose pens and I got sick of not caring. (Comedian Mitch Hedberg)
(Here, "bought" is in the simple past tense.)

• Men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage - they have experienced pain and have bought jewelry. (Comedian Rita Rudner)
(Here, "bought" is a past participle.)

Brought

"Brought" is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb "to bring."

Example sentences with "brought":

• I brought the film like a flower to the world. (Film director Claude Chabrol)
(Here, "brought" is in the simple past tense.)
• Great things are done by a series of small things that have been brought together. (Artist Vincent Van Gogh)
(Here, "brought" is a past participle.)

Remembering "Brought"

Let the r in "brought" remind you of "bring."

Brought or Brung?

The past tense of "to bring" is "brought." "Brung" does not exist. It is a spelling mistake. "Brang" does not exist either. It is also a spelling mistake. This mistake is understandable when you consider the past forms of similar-looking verbs:

verb	past tense	past participle
to ring	rang	rung
to sing	sang	sung
to bring	brang brought	brung brought

Common Terms with "Bought" and "Brought"

Terms with "bought":

• bought a car
• bought as seen
• bought the farm
• bought the dummy

Terms with "brought":

• brought a smile to my face
• brought a tear to my eye
• brought down
• brought forward
• brought into question
• brought it up
• brought to bear

Ready for the Test?