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

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. 

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. 

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. 

Special structure

I

He/She/It

We/You/They

Conditional sentences

Conditional sentence type 2 - Main clause

would bring

would bring

would bring

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

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

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

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. 

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. 

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

1. A
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. B

1. bring along
2. bring to
3. brought up
4. bring off
5. bring about