Brought and Bought—Learn the Difference Quickly

Brought and bought are two words are often confused with each other, particularly when one first learns English. They are both irregular verbs with an -ough- construction—a combination that trips many up with both pronunciation and spelling.

The Difference between “Brought” and “Bought”

Brought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to bring, which means “to carry someone or something to a place or person.”

Bought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to buy, which means “to obtain something by paying money for it.”

Both brought and bought rhyme with cot, tot, and plot.

Legend has it that European explorers bought Manhattan for twenty-four dollars.

Alex brought a cup of coffee to his exhausted mother.

Bought implies an economic transaction; brought implies the transport of something (or someone).

Conjugating Bought and Brought

To buy

Present Tense	I buy	you buy	he/she/it buys	we buy	you buy	they buy
Simple Past Tense	I bought	you bought	he/she/it bought	we bought	you bought	they bought
Present Participle	I am buying	you are buying	he/she/it is buying	we are buying	you are buying	they are buying
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they bought	—	—	—	—	—

To bring

Present Tense	I bring	you bring	he/she/it brings	we bring	you bring	they bring
Simple Past Tense	I brought	you brought	he/she/it brought	we brought	you brought	they brought
Present Participle	I am bringing	you are bringing	he/she/it is bringing	we are bringing	you are bringing	they are bringing
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they brought	—	—	—	—	—

Why Do We Have the Spellings “Brought” and “Bought”?

As funny as it would seem to use buyed and bringed as past tenses of to buy and to bring, you might be wondering how these irregular verbs came to be spelled so differently in the first place. The truth is, these two verbs have been irregular in English for more than a thousand years. No kidding!

In Old English, which was in use roughly from the fifth century to the eleventh, the verb bycġan meant the equivalent of our verb to buy and had the past tense bohte. Similarly, the equivalent past tense of to bring was brohte. Both are ancient words that can be traced to Proto-Germanic origins and perhaps even further back. The h in the middle of these two words represent a hard sound similar to the Scottish h in loch.

Suffice it to say that by the time the French invaded England in 1066, bohte and brohte were firmly ensconced in the language. Over time, the French influence on English regularized the spelling of the hard, middle sound of these words, and others like them, to gh. This is how words containing ough came to be part of our language. The spelling has survived the ages, even though the original pronunciation has not.

Bought and brought have proved their staying power, and unless you plan on living upwards of a thousand years, you are not likely to see a simplified spelling of either of them. Although you never know—there are little spelling rebellions thriving in our text messages these days, like nite for night and thru for through. If one of those words becomes standard, perhaps the whole gh dynasty will come tumbling down someday.

Now that we have sorted out bought and brought, perhaps you will want to learn more about other commonly confused words.

Gone vs. Went–Learn the Difference

Went is the past tense of go. Gone is the past participle of go.

Examples:

I go to the store. (present tense)

I went to the store. (past tense)

I have gone to the store. (past participle)

If you aren’t sure whether to use gone or went, remember that gone always needs an auxiliary verb before it (has, have, had, is, am, are, was, were, be), but went doesn’t.

I could have gone to the store yesterday.

I could have went to the store.

Suppose vs. Supposed—Is There a Difference?

Supposed to is part of a modal verb phrase meaning expected to or required to. Although suppose to crops up frequently in casual speech and writing, it should not be used in that sense. Suppose (without the d) should only be used as the present tense of the verb meaning to assume (something to be true).

When to Use Supposed To

To be supposed to is a common phrase that functions the same way a modal verb does. Modal verbs, also called auxiliary or helping verbs, add meaning to the main verb in a sentence by expressing possibility, ability, permission, or obligation. Supposed to, like have to, can fall into the “obligation” category.

I have to be home by midnight or my coach will turn into a pumpkin.

I am supposed to be home by midnight or my coach will turn into a pumpkin.

It can also be used to indicate what a person (or thing) is likely to do or is reputed to do.

It was supposed to rain today.

She is supposed to be the best poodle breeder in town.

Whenever it is used in either of these senses, supposed to will be preceded by a form of to be and followed by a verb.

He is supposed to turn in his homework on Friday mornings.

Were we supposed to be here so early?

The Verb To Suppose

On the other hand, the verb to suppose means to presume, in theory, that something is the case without certain evidence.

Max isn’t here yet, so I suppose his train was delayed.

The committee supposes that the decline in profits is due to a faulty product design.

As an imperative, it can mean the equivalent of what would happen if.

Suppose my coach really does turn into a pumpkin. What will I do then?

Supposed To, Have To, and Ought To

Some English language learners are easily confused by the modal verbs to be supposed to, have to, and ought to. While all three function similarly in a sentence, their meanings are subtly different.

To be supposed to do something implies that the subject is obligated and expected to do the main verb’s action, although there is a possibility it won’t happen.

The magician is supposed to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Here, there is an expectation that the magician will be able to perform his trick correctly, but there is always a chance that he won’t succeed. The sentence conveys this expectation and the reader must now wait to see if that expectation will be fulfilled.

Has to means the same as must; it implies that the subject has no choice about performing the verb’s action.

The magician has to produce the rabbit to earn applause.

This sentence conveys that if the magician does not produce the rabbit, there will be no applause. He simply must do it to get the result he wants.

Ought to is more of a suggestion. It conveys what would be best for the subject to do, but the subject is not compelled to do it.

The magician ought to slip his rabbit a carrot before the show.

To ensure that he has a compliant, content rabbit in his hat, the magician should give his rabbit a carrot, although no one requires it of him. It would simply be a good idea.

If you only remember a single grammar factoid about suppose, let it be that you can confidently expunge “I am suppose to…” from your literary repertoire forever. That’s just how it is supposed to be.

Read Today or Pay Tomorrow: Celebrating International Children’s Book Day

Guest post by David Dotson of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton has taught me lots of lessons over the past 16 years:

Be proud of who you are.

To reach your goals you may have to step around people or step over people, but never step on people.

Count your blessings more often than you count your money.

Yet the greatest gift she gave me was the gift of reading. I stepped into a situation in which she told me that she wanted to share her Imagination Library with children all over the world. She wanted to inspire preschool children to love reading and love books. She was convinced that if kids could not only read, but also love to read, then their chances of succeeding in school and life would be greatly enhanced.

Dolly didn’t quote any statistics, but numbers abound to affirm her intuitive genius.

Depending on the community and the country, 35%-50% of children come to kindergarten unprepared to learn. And for those children reading below grade level in the 3rd or 4th grade, 75% of them will be reading below grade level in the 12th grade.

The consequences are immense. Can you believe that 85% of juvenile offenders have problems with reading? Or that kids who arrive at school unprepared to learn are four times more likely to drop out of school? And try this one on: 70% of inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.

The call to action on this day to celebrate children’s books is to ensure that all children have access to books — in addition to the basic needs of a home, good health and nutrition. This is a hefty investment for sure, but at the end of the day one fact remains: read today or pay tomorrow.

David Dotson, President The Dollywood Foundation Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton explains the inspiration behind her Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth to age five.

Posted by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library on Wednesday, April 1, 2015

About the Author David Dotson has led The Dollywood Foundation for the past 16 years. He has served on a variety of boards committed to excellence in education, co-produced a series of shows to bring books to life at Dollywood, and basically does anything that Dolly Parton needs him to do!