Ask WordMum: Bought vs Brought
Welcome to the next instalment of Ask WordMum series! Does when to use bought or brought leave you searching for a synonym to avoid the word altogether? Read on for some some advice and examples so you can always know you’ve bought yourself some time and brought your A game.
Our Question
How do I know whether to use bought or brought in a sentence?
Terrible Advice
The R is totally optional. It’s just there for decoration.
WordMum Says
This is one I always have to pause and think about before I write it down because they sound so similar! In this case, I refer back to the word’s root to know which one I should be using, because they are more distinct and the presence or absence of the R is consistent.
Bought (verb)
The past tense of to buy. So this refers specifically to something you have purchased. You have paid for it, usually with money (you could use it to include something you bartered for, though that’s not typically considered buying something). Neither buy nor bought have an R in it, so walking back to the ‘buy’ concept gives you the answer.
I ask myself, “Did they buy this thing?”
Brought (verb)
The past tense of to bring. This tends to mean something you have carried with you, and includes an idea of carrying, motion, or travel because you bring the thing from one place to another. Walking back to bring gives you the included R.
I ask myself, “Do I mean they bring this thing?”
The key here is whether I can rearrange the sentence to use the present tense version (buy or bring) and still have the same meaning. Then I know whether or not I need to include the R. This means you can have fun sentences like He brought along the tablet he bought earlier. That doesn’t mean you should, though.
For an extra level of complication, these are not to be confused with bough. This is a noun referring to a branch on a tree and is pronounced quite differently. We’re leaving the trees alone in this post!
Example Time!
The horse was bought and sold
An easy one to get us started! This clearly refers to buying and selling a horse, so the present tense is easy to identify. Right?
Only if that’s what you’re intending to say! Could this actually be trying to say that someone was bringing the horse and then selling it? The horse was brought and sold does also make sense and is grammatically correct. However, given that bought and sold is a common phrase, straying from it this way may cause confusion.
He should’ve brought a plate to the pot luck
Tsk, what a faux pas. Let’s unpick this one by walking it back to the present tense and seeing which one works.
He was supposed to bring a plate to the pot luck makes sense, so we know brought works. Using it here conveys the idea that he didn’t bring a plate.
He was supposed to buy a plate to the pot luck doesn’t make sense. If what you are trying to say is that the person was supposed to buy food but made something at home instead, you can rejig the sentence to say he should have bought a plate for the pot luck.
So ask yourself: which one do you mean? Did he fail to buy the plate, or fail to bring one?
She brought it upon herself
This phrasing typically refers to consequences and is more conceptual or metaphorical. Sadly, the idea that someone is paying for what they’ve done doesn’t help us, because bought it upon herself isn’t what we’re looking for here.
For this one, the idea of motion helps me: the consequences (it) are moving from wherever they are to on top of the person (upon). Motion takes us to the idea of bringing something somewhere.
If that doesn’t clear it up for you, the present tense versions of the phrase can help. She buys it upon herself doesn’t make sense. However, she brings it upon herself does, so we know we want to use brought!
After the fight, six of them had bought it
This one also refers to consequences, but it doesn’t use the same solution as the example above. It’s a very specific consequence, though: the phrasing bought it is a colloquial way of saying those six people were dead.
This phrasing contrasts with the above because there is no movement in the sentence or otherwise. Those six fighters are not going anywhere. The lack of movement pushes us away from the idea of bringing it, and over to buying it.
If it helps, you bring it at the beginning of a fight. If you’re unfortunate, you might end the fight by buying it.
She brought up an uncomfortable topic
This one is also somewhat metaphorical, but (hopefully) simpler than our fun with consequences above.
This one includes the motion notion (with the up direction), and we can also go back to the present tense to help us out. She buys up the topic doesn’t make sense, because topics of conversation can’t typically be purchased.
However, she brings up the topic makes sense, so that gives us the R to use. If it helps, you can also link it back to a word vomit concept like she is bringing up lunch. Yum.
Clear? Excellent! May this post have brought you many shiny things.
If you have any other scenarios or examples you need clarified, just ask! Drop it into a comment here or on the Discord server. I’d also love to hear if you have different strategies to help you find the right word to use.
Do you find this kind of tip useful? Let us know! You can always Ask WordMum. Watch this space for our next entry in the series.