Irregular verbs in English, the past tense of Buy: Buy - Bought - Bought

Meaning

Example

to obtain something in exchange for money

(v)

I need to buy some groceries for dinner tonight. 

to accept or believe in something

(v)

Do you really buy his excuse? 

to bribe someone

(v)

The politician tried to buy the witnesses to cover up the scandal.

a purchase transaction

(n)

The sale was a good buy for everyone who participated. 

an item that has been purchased

(n)

That new phone was a great buy.

Verb form

Example

V0

Buy

/bɑɪ/

Sarah buys fresh vegetables from the local market every week.

V2

Bought

/bɑːt/

Sarah bought fresh vegetables from the local market last week. 

V3

Bought

/bɑːt/

Sarah has bought fresh vegetables from the local market twice this week. 

12 tenses in English

I

He/She/It

We/You/They

Present simple tense

buy

buys

buy

• I buy groceries every Saturday.

• She buys new clothes once a month.

• We buy our coffee from a local café.

Present progressive tense

am buying

is buying

are buying

• I am buying a new laptop right now.

• She is buying tickets for the concert this evening.

• We are buying supplies for the office.

Present perfect tense

have bought

has bought

have bought

• I have bought all the ingredients for the dinner.

• She has bought a new house this year.

• We have bought tickets for the movie already.

Present perfect progressive tense

have been buying

has been buying

have been buying

• I have been buying groceries every week for years.

• She has been buying new shoes for her collection.

• We have been buying office supplies throughout the month.

Past simple tense

bought

bought

bought

• I bought a new phone last week.

• She bought a dress for the party yesterday.

• We bought a car two years ago.

Past progressive tense

was buying

was buying

were buying

• I was buying groceries when you called.

• She was buying gifts for her friends during the holiday.

• We were buying supplies while the store was closing.

Past perfect tense

had bought

had bought

had bought

• I had bought the tickets before the event was canceled.

• She had bought the groceries before the store closed.

• We had bought the house before the price went up.

Past perfect progressive tense

had been buying

had been buying

had been buying

• I had been buying gifts for the holidays for weeks before Christmas.

• She had been buying new furniture for months before moving.

• We had been buying materials for the project when the budget was cut.

Future simple tense

will buy

will buy

will buy

• I will buy a new car next year.

• She will buy a gift for her friend’s birthday.

• We will buy new equipment for the office.

Future progressive tense

will be buying

will be buying

will be buying

• I will be buying groceries at that time tomorrow.

• She will be buying tickets for the show during the weekend.

• We will be buying materials for the construction project next month.

Future perfect tense

will have bought

will have bought

will have bought

• I will have bought all the supplies by the end of the day.

• She will have bought the furniture by the time the house is ready.

• We will have bought the new software before the next meeting.

Future perfect progressive tense

will have been buying

will have been buying

will have been buying

• I will have been buying supplies for weeks by the time the project starts.

• She will have been buying tickets for various events over the summer.

• We will have been buying new office equipment for the past year.

Special Structure

I

He/She/It

We/You/They

Conditional Sentences

Second conditional - Main Clause

would buy

would buy

would buy

• If I had more money, I would buy a new car.

• If she knew about the sale, she would buy the dress.

• If we were on vacation, we would buy souvenirs.

Third conditional - Main Clause

would have bought

would have bought

would have bought

• If I had known about the offer, I would have bought the laptop.

• If she had had more time, she would have bought the tickets.

• If we had saved more money, we would have bought the house.

Subjunctive 

Subjunctive  expressing present situation

buy

buy

buy

Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact

would buy

would buy

would buy

Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact

would have bought

would have bought

would have bought

Example

• If I buy a new phone, I will choose one with a better camera.

• If she knew about the sale, she would buy the dress.

• If we had saved more money, we would have bought the house.

Phrasal verb with Buy

Meaning

Example

buy into something

to accept or believe in an idea or concept

John bought into the idea of investing in renewable energy after attending the seminar. 

buy off someone

to bribe someone

Emily tried to buy off the witness to avoid any legal complications. 

buy out someone

to purchase a person's share or ownership rights in a business

Michael bought out his business partner's share to gain full control of the company.

buy up something

to purchase all or most of a particular type of goods or property

Sarah bought up all the tickets for the concert before they sold out. 

Idioms with Buy

Meaning

Example

buy time

to prolong a period or delay something

John tried to buy time by asking for a meeting extension to gather more information.

buy someone's silence 

to bribe or pay someone to keep quiet

Emily was accused of buying the journalist's silence to prevent the scandal from being published. 

a good/ bad buy

an item or product purchased at a favorable/unfavorable price

Mark considered the new smartphone a good buy because it had excellent features and was on sale. 

buy the farm

to die, especially while serving in the military

Tom's family was devastated when they heard that he had bought the farm during the combat mission. 

1. had bought

2. bought

3. are buying

4. bought

5. will have bought

6. bought

7. buy

8. bought

9. would have bought

10. would have bought