Bought Vs Brought

If there were a list made of confusing words, brought and bought must definitely be in it. Both of these words are irregular verbs with an ‘ough’ construction. It is definitely a combination which trips many up with its spelling as well as pronunciation. Although they may seem similar, their meanings are completely different from each other. It becomes easy to use these words in the correct manner once you understand their differences in a clear manner. Even though their meanings and spellings are different, they do have a lot in common as well. So, let’s find out more about bought vs brought in an elaborate manner.

Firstly, bought and brought are both verbs. Further, both of them are also irregular verbs. Thirdly, bought and brought are the past simple/past participle forms of their respective verbs. While their spellings are different, there is only one letter which separates them and it is the letter R. In the speech, you may or may not hear the letter R clearly, but in text, you definitely see it. Thus, it is essential to not confuse these two terms.

Difference between Bought Vs Brought

It is very easy to understand the difference between brought and bought after learning their meanings. Brought is the past participle of bring, whereas, bought is the past participle of buy.

While these two words may rhyme, they are not alike in meaning. Being the past tense of bring, brought refers to carrying someone or something to a place or person. On the other hand, bought refers to obtaining something by paying money for it.

Both these words rhyme with words like plot, not, and hot. For instance, when you buy orange juice, you will use bought. However, when you bring orange juice to another person, you will use brought.

All in all bought implies an economic transaction. On the other hand, brought implies transporting something or someone.

 Get a huge list of 100+ Confusing Words here

When/How to Use Bought

Bought is the past tense and past participle of buy which means to acquire in exchange for money or purchase. For instance, I will buy you dinner today or Dina bought a new home.

We use the bought time when we talk about delaying an event temporarily. Next, we use bought up to refer to purchasing all that is available. After that, we use bought out to purchase the entire stock, business rights, interest or more.

Let us take a look at the incorrect and correct use of bought vs brought:

Incorrect: She brought out all the other shareholders and now own 60 per cent.

Correct: She bought out all the other shareholders and now own 60 per cent.

When/How to Use Brought

Being the past tense of bring, we use brought when we refer to carrying, conveying, leading, of causing to along to another place. For instance, did you bring your notes with you or she brought enough clothes for the entire trip?

Thus, you see that bringing something with you means taking it along with you. Many common phrases use the word brought. Brought about means causing something to happen. Further, brought around means to adopt an opinion. Next, brought down means to cause to fall or collapse. Finally, brought to light refers to reveal or disclose.

Let us take a look at the incorrect and correct use of bought vs brought:

Incorrect: The Chief Minister’s speech bought about a change in public opinion.

Correct: The Chief Minister’s speech brought about a change in public opinion.

Examples of Bought – Using Bought in a Sentence

To understand the use of bought, we will take you through some examples to make sure you learn how to use it correctly in the future. Further, these sentences will help you get a clear idea of where to use it.

• Which one of you bought the rice with stones in it?
• My sister finally bought the car she had wanted for years.
• John bought a ton of stuff when he went to the grocery store.
• I bought this dress from an online store but I don’t think it’s the right one.
• Andrea bought me a bag of toffees on my birthday.

Examples of Brought – Using Brought in a Sentence

Using brought in a sentence is easy now that you know the meaning of this word. However, you must be careful of the tense which you are using in the sentence to ensure your sentence is grammatically correct.

• You were not feeling well so I brought you some porridge.
• Charles had found a few early violets in his garden so he brought them to his wife.
• Nicky’s story was so heart-wrenching that it brought tears to my eyes.
• They ended the conversation then and there and never brought the subject up again.
• Dean has been brought up in a good and loving environment and it clearly shows.