Search blog

English irregular verbs, past forms of Bring: Bring - Brought - Brought

Bring is a widely used verb in English. However, many people are still unsure about how to conjugate past forms of Bring. In today's article, let's find the answers to the above question and acquire more valuable knowledge together with PREP!

I. What is Bring?
II. What are V0, V2, V3 of Bring? The past forms of Bring in English
III. How to conjugate the verb Bring
1. 1. In tenses
2. 2. In special sentence structures
IV. Phrasal verbs with Bring in English
V. Exercise on the past forms of Bring with answers
1. 1. Exercises
2. 2. Answer
VI. IELTS Made Simple

I. What is Bring?

In English, Bring is pronounced /brɪŋ/ and functions as a verb with the following common meanings:

Meaning of Bring	Example
to take or carry someone or something to a place or a person, or in the direction of the person speaking	When Jennie visits us, she always brings her dog with them.
to cause, result in, or produce a state or condition	Lisa has brought us so much happiness over the years.
to make yourself do something that you do not want to do	I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint Jack.

II. What are V0, V2, V3 of Bring? The past forms of Bring in English

What are the past forms of Bring in English? What are V0, V2, V3 of Bring? V0, V2, V3 stand for: Infinitive, Simple Past, and Past Participle. Let's delve into the past forms of Bring in the table below!

Past forms of Bring		Example
V0	Bring /brɪŋ/	John and Jack bring me a cup of tea every morning.
V2	Brought /brɑːt/	John brought me a cup of tea yesterday morning.
V3	Brought /brɑːt/	John has brought me a cup of tea a couple of times.

In conclusion, the past forms of Bring are: the past form of Bring in past simple is Brought and the past participle of Bring is Brought.

III. How to conjugate the verb Bring

How is the verb Bring conjugated in the 12 English tenses and special structures? After exploring the past forms of Bring, let’s take a look at the conjugation rules of the verb Bring in various contexts with PREP!

1. In tenses

12 English tenses	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	bring	brings	bring
	For example: I bring my lunch to work every day. He brings his guitar to the company. We bring snacks to the cinema.
Present continuous tense	am bringing	is bringing	are bringing
	For example: I am bringing cake to the party tonight. He is bringing his camera to take the photos. We are bringing extra blankets for the camping trip.
Present perfect tense	have brought	has brought	have brought
	For example: I have brought my camera with me for the trip already. He has just brought all the necessary equipment for the job. We have brought our raincoats just in case it rains.
Present perfect continuous tense	have been bringing	has been bringing	have been bringing
	For example: I have been bringing documents to every meeting recently. He has been bringing up the idea of a trip for weeks. We have been bringing new ideas during our discussions.
Past simple tense	brought	brought	brought
	For example: I brought my candy to school yesterday. He brought his notebook to the meeting last week. We brought extra tables to the party.
Past continuous tense	was bringing	was bringing	were bringing
	For example: I was bringing my dog home when it started to rain. He was bringing boxes into the car while I was unpacking them. We were bringing food to the camping trip when we realized we forgot the drinks.
Past Perfect Tense	had brought	had brought	had brought
	For example: I had brought my raincoat, but it wasn't needed because the rain stopped. He had brought his phone, but unfortunately, the battery was dead. We had brought Enough food for the party, so nobody went hungry.
Past perfect continuous tense	had been bringing	had been bringing	had been bringing
	For example: I had been bringing a projector to the meeting for all weeks. He had been bringing up the issue for months before anyone took notice. We had been bringing supplies to the disaster area for 4 hours.
Simple future tense	will bring	will bring	will bring
	For example: I will bring my camera to the party tomorrow. He will bring his laptop to the meeting next week. We will bring extra blankets for the camping trip.
Future continuous tense	will be bringing	will be bringing	will be bringing
	For example: I will be bringing appetizers to the party on Saturday this week. He will be bringing his presentation materials to the conference on June 15. We will be bringing camping gear for our trip to the mountains.
Future Perfect tense	will have brought	will have brought	will have brought
	For example: I will have brought my passport for this trip before it expires. He will have brought all the necessary documents before the meeting starts. We will have brought Enough supplies for the event before it begins.
Future perfect continuous tense	will have been bringing	will have been bringing	will have been bringing
	For example: I will have been bringing snacks for the meeting for two hours by the time it starts. He will have been bringing up the same issue for months by the end of the year. We will have been bringing supplies to the disaster area for weeks by the time the relief efforts conclude.

2. In special sentence structures

Special structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional sentences
Conditional sentence type 2 - Main clause	would bring	would bring	would bring
Conditional sentence type 2 - Main clause	For example: If it rained, I would bring my umbrella. If he had more time, he would bring his dog to the park. If we were going on a road trip, we would bring a cooler full of drinks.
Conditional sentence type 2 - Variation of the main clause	would be bringing	would be bringing	would be bringing
Conditional sentence type 2 - Variation of the main clause	For example: If it were your birthday, I would be bringing a gift. If he lived closer to his parents, he would be bringing his kids to visit. If we were attending the wedding, we would be bringing a card congratulating the couple.
Conditional sentence type 3 - Main clause	would have brought	would have brought	would have brought
Conditional sentence type 3 - Main clause	For example: If I had known about the party, I would have brought decorations. If he had remembered the anniversary, he would have brought flowers for his wife. If we had arrived earlier, we would have brought chairs for everyone.
Conditional sentence type 3 - Variation of the main clause	would have been bringing	would have been bringing	would have been bringing
Conditional sentence type 3 - Variation of the main clause	For example: If I had known you were coming, I would have been bringing snacks. If he had asked for help earlier, we would have been bringing boxes into his house. If we had realized it was a potluck, we would have been bringing a dessert.
Hypothetical sentence
Hypothetical Sentence Expressing a Present Event	bring	bring	bring
Hypothetical Sentence Expressing a Contrast with Reality in the Present	brought	brought	brought
Hypothetical Sentence Expressing a Contrast with Reality in the Past	had brought	had brought	had brought
For example	If I bring my laptop, I can work from anywhere. If he brought his phone, he could have called for help. She wishes she had brought an umbrella.

IV. Phrasal verbs with Bring in English

After exploring the past forms of Bring, let’s take a look at a handy list of phrasal verbs with Bring in English!

Phrasal verbs with Bring	Meaning	Example
Bring about	to cause something to happen	What brought about the change in Smith's attitude?
Bring along	to take someone or something with you	Can I bring Jennie along to your birthday party?
Bring off	to succeed in doing something difficult	It was a difficult task but Jack and his partner brought it off.
Bring to	to restore someone to consciousness.	Maria lost consciousness after the fall, and we were unable to bring her to.
Bring up	to care for a child until they are an adult, often giving them particular beliefs	Anna was brought up by her grandmother.

V. Exercise on the past forms of Bring with answers

To further understand the past forms of Bring and phrasal verbs with Bring in English, let's complete the exercise below with PREP!

1. Exercises

Exercise 1: Choose the correct answer:

Jack will ______ his guitar to the party.
1. bring
2. brings
3. brought
______ this gift to your father.
1. Bringing
2. Taking
3. Bringing up
Jennie ’ll bring her holiday pictures ______ when she comes.
1. up
2. out
3. along
When the merchandise arrives, can you ask John to ______ it to his room?
1. bring
2. take
3. bring on
I ______ Maria some food because I thought she might be hungry.
1. bring
2. brought
3. brought to

Exercise 2: Choose the most suitable phrasal verb with Bring (conjugate the verb if any):

Applicants are required to ________ the original documents for verification when they come. (bring up/ bring back/ bring along)
He lost consciousness after the fall, and they were unable to ______ him ______. (brought off/ brought to/ brought about)
Anna ________ her three children all on her own. (brought along/ brought up/ brought down)
It was an important event, and she's managed to _____ it ______ brilliantly. (bring about/ bring up/ bring off)
It took the combined efforts of both the press and the public to ________ a change in the law. (bring along/ bring around/ bring about)

2. Answer

Exercise 1	Exercise 2
A A C A B	bring along bring to brought up bring off bring about

VI. IELTS Made Simple

PREP hopes that after reading the above article, you have gained an understanding of the definition and past forms of Bring in English, as well as some common phrasal verbs with Bring. If you’re ready to boost your IELTS band score, check out our expert-led courses below:

👉 IELTS online: Mastering IELTS exam from zero to hero

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.