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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why do people get bought and brought mixed up?

230 replies

Starllight · 30/01/2023 07:41

A Monday morning irk of mine… Surely people know the difference?

Bought - past tense of buy

Brought - past tense of bring

As a side note, where I now live in Scotland I have never come across anyone get this mixed up. Perhaps that’s why it irks me when I see it?!

YABU - They’re both very similar and easy to get them mixed up
YANBU - It looks/sounds completely ridiculous when people use ‘brought’ instead of bought

OP posts:
Simonjt · 30/01/2023 13:31

Sarahcoggles · 30/01/2023 08:31

So did the drop the R in brought, or add an R to bought? I can't see how they can be pronounced in the same way otherwise!

Show quote history

Both pronounced bought, well bowrt

Oakbeam · 30/01/2023 13:36

So did the drop the R in brought, or add an R to bought? I can't see how they can be pronounced in the same way otherwise!

Think of the voice over on the old Hovis adverts. Some Yorkshire accents have problems pronouncing R.

onlyconnect · 30/01/2023 13:39

I haven't read twt but I think that it's very common in some areas. I'm from the Midlands and I think it happens a lot there.
It's nothing to do with intelligence or educational standards- those suggesting the latter need a bit of education themselves in my view.
We all learn to speak by copying those around us. We're all doing the same thing.
Brought and bought are both irregular past tenses with one letter difference and there are some sentences where either will do.

PigleyWibbly · 30/01/2023 13:42

Because they don’t read much so are relying on what they hear.

I’ve noticed “chester draws” on Facebook marketplace recently, in place of “chest of drawers”. Someone who had seen that written down a few times wouldn’t make that mistake.

Oakbeam · 30/01/2023 13:46

I haven't read twt but I think that it's very common in some areas. I'm from the Midlands and I think it happens a lot there.

It does. It’s part of the local dialect.

I wasn’t aware of it until I got a job in the midlands.

BertieBotts · 30/01/2023 13:46

Actually even American spelling tends to bother me; traveling for example, the removal of the double L really ought to change the vowel sound - I want to read it as "travailing" like a French é.

This is because it should become a split phoneme (what most of us learned as magic e)

For example, the word not becomes note when adding "magic e", this sound can also work with other vowel sounds, such as noted, noting, notice, notary etc - notice the single t.

If you want it to be pronounced not + vowel without the "magic e" effect, then you have to double the consonant. Notting (as in Notting Hill) or knot / knotted / knotting, for example.

And color makes me want to change the first O from a schwa (uh) sound to an O as in pot, and the second o into an OR sound, rather than UR. Coll-or. Not sure my reasoning behind this one, I'd have to think about the pattern some more.

ZeroFuchsGiven · 30/01/2023 14:06

And color makes me want to change the first O from a schwa (uh) sound to an O as in pot, and the second o into an OR sound, rather than UR. Coll-or. Not sure my reasoning behind this one, I'd have to think about the pattern some more

I completely get what you are saying with this, When I read 'color' my brain does not instantly recognise it as 'colour'. I see it and read 'collar' then have to correct myself.

Original poster
Starllight · 30/01/2023 14:46

AlviesMam · 30/01/2023 13:13

Finally a post about this! YANBU
My pet hate!!!

I took one for the team! It has caused great offence to some people!

OP posts:
SinnerBoy · 30/01/2023 14:53

Plbrookes · Today 12:00

@SinnerBoy I don't know why people like you will go to such lengths to avoid admitting they were wrong.

Because I'm not. Right back atcha!

Octopusmittens · 30/01/2023 14:53

Because they’re knobbers.

SlipperyLizard · 30/01/2023 14:56

I know the difference between bought & brought, but unfortunately my mum does not. As a result, I didn’t really know the difference as a kid and even now, when speaking, I sometimes get it wrong. Never in writing, though.

My mum also says “ff” instead of “th”, and I have to really focus on those types of words, especially when switching between sounds (e.g here are three free doughnuts would need a pause to make my words come out right!).

Catnary · 30/01/2023 15:06

PigleyWibbly · 30/01/2023 13:42

Because they don’t read much so are relying on what they hear.

I’ve noticed “chester draws” on Facebook marketplace recently, in place of “chest of drawers”. Someone who had seen that written down a few times wouldn’t make that mistake.

But don’t you find it fascinating that an adult old enough to sell furniture on Facebook can get through life without having seen “chest of drawers” written down a few times?

Princesspollyyy · 30/01/2023 15:10

Probably the same people who can't tell the difference between:

To / Two / Too

Draw / Drawers

There / Their / They're

Your / You're

Catnary · 30/01/2023 15:31

BertieBotts · 30/01/2023 12:36

YY, I don't know if it's a gene as such but the idea of a spelling "gene" is absolutely true to me.

I think what it is is whether you read words as a whole, which is how most people over 20 were taught to read, or whether you decode phonically. Some people figure that out without ever being taught it, almost instinctively, and it makes it easy to spell. Apparently those of us who do this under the old reading system would have been seen as fast learners and learned to read very quickly, this is simply because rather than having to build up a vocabulary of recognisable words which is a longer process, we built up a set of rules similar to the phonics rules which are now taught explicitly to children. I actually remember learning to read, which according to my school records I did at four, and it seeming to just unlock all of a sudden all at once. So presumably I must have done this (I don't remember though and I'm sure I am just lucky!)

Some misspellings leave me completely baffled as to how the author came up with them, because to me that combination of letters could not, or would be very unlikely to make that sound. And effect / affect is not something I have ever struggled with, because effect can be pronounced as uh-fect or if-fect, and if-fect could never be spelled "affect". Affect can be pronounced as uh-fect or aff-fect, and aff-ect could not be spelt "effect". So I simply run the sentence in my brain with Aff-ect or iff-ect and I know immediately which one to use. But many people do struggle with this one, because of the uh-fect pronunciation which could reasonably be spelt either way.

Have you ever come across the riddle/joke where somebody explains how confusing English spelling is by spelling "fish" "ghoti" ?

They explain that it is like taking the gh from enough, the o from women and the ti from motion.

But this isn't actually how spelling works, the gh sound for example never appears at the beginning of a word and ti doesn't exist as a "sh" sound on its own, it's only ever a combination with "tion".

(Yes I am very boring at parties)

Just saw this phonically-logical gem in my son’s school work- “Baecury”

As in the place you buy bread!

Catnary · 30/01/2023 15:32

(He’s in Year 1)

NowDoYouBelieveMe · 30/01/2023 15:35

Starllight · 30/01/2023 07:49

Thanks for your perspective.

I see if frequently on MN so it obviously is quite easily mixed up by people. To me they are so different which is why I can’t understand how they get mixed up.

I don’t think they mean similar things though, like a PP said. In my head they almost mean opposites. Brought - you buy something so take it from the shop. Brought - you bring something so you take it with you

Show quote history

You just did it yourself, so maybe you can answer your own question now?

BelperLawnmower · 30/01/2023 15:46

Because they are just one letter apart, sound very similar and are both past participles so they're grammatically interchangeable.

Lollyloup · 30/01/2023 15:47

I completely agree with this. And also when people say "come" instead of "came", so they'll say "when she come round my house" - it just sounds so thick!

Oakbeam · 30/01/2023 15:52

*Just saw this phonically-logical gem in my son’s school work- “Baecury”

As in the place you buy bread!

I can remember discussing how to spell “of” with a classmate when I was six (mid 1960s). O V or O V E. We settled on ov.

Catnary · 30/01/2023 17:05

I clearly remember writing a “list ov things to do” at that age too!

JanglyBeads · 30/01/2023 19:10

Princesspollyyy · 30/01/2023 15:10

Probably the same people who can't tell the difference between:

To / Two / Too

Draw / Drawers

There / Their / They're

Your / You're

Nope

JanglyBeads · 30/01/2023 19:11

Octopusmittens · 30/01/2023 14:53

Because they’re knobbers.

And another nope. Thanks for the kind thought though.

Princesspollyyy · 30/01/2023 19:34

@JanglyBeads Nope what?? 😂

SunshineThelma · 30/01/2023 19:36

Mixing up 'been' and 'being' is one that really puts my teeth on edge (as in "my OH is been a knob").
I think it's a West Yorkshire thing, as they're pronounced almost identically.

Fairislefandango · 30/01/2023 19:42

Because they sound very similar and, although they aren't very similar in meaning, they can be used in similar sentences. To be honest, I'm surprised you find it so hard to understand. Confusing similar-sounding words isn't a particularly unusual occurrence.

I suspect this another one of those threads where 'I simply can't understand why x' actually means 'Aren't people who do/like/buy x stupid/common/uncultured'.