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What is the past tense of the verb 'Buy'?
A. Buyed
B. Bought
C. Buying
D. Boughten
Correct Answer Is Option = Bought
Notes / Explanation
The past tense of the verb buy is bought, and this is an example of an irregular verb in the English language, an understanding of which is essential for using the language correctly and for performing well in competitive examinations. In English, verbs change their form to show the time of an action, and the past tense is the form used to describe an action that has already happened. Most verbs form their past tense in a regular way by adding a standard ending to the base form of the verb, so that the verb walk becomes walked and the verb play becomes played. However, a large number of common verbs do not follow this regular pattern, and these are called irregular verbs, because their past tense forms are made in special ways that must be learnt individually. The verb buy is one of these irregular verbs, and its past tense is bought, which is formed in a special way, with a change in the word, rather than by adding the usual ending. The form bought is used both for the simple past tense and as the past participle, which is the form used together with helping verbs in certain constructions, so that one says that a person bought something yesterday, using the simple past tense, and that something has been bought, using the past participle, the form bought serving in both cases. Many other common English verbs form their past tense in a similar way, ending in the same sound, such as the verb bring, which becomes brought, the verb think, which becomes thought, the verb catch, which becomes caught, and the verb teach, which becomes taught, all of these being irregular verbs that change in a similar manner. Because these irregular forms do not follow the regular rule, they cannot be worked out by simply adding the usual ending, and learners must memorise them. A common mistake among those learning English is to apply the regular pattern and produce an incorrect form such as buyed instead of bought. For PPSC and other competitive examinations, the key points to remember are that the past tense of buy is bought, that this is an irregular verb whose past tense is formed by a change in the word rather than by adding the usual ending, that the form bought serves as both the simple past tense and the past participle, and that a number of other verbs, such as bring, think, catch and teach, form their past tense in a similar way, becoming brought, thought, caught and taught.
