Have you ever got stuck on the correct past tense of the English verb buy? This article will explain the conjugations of the english language word buy and also define buy and give you all the information you need about the english grammar of the word.
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to acquire possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of by payment especially of money: purchase
buy a car
buying stock in the company
bought us dinner
to obtain in exchange for something often at a sacrifice
They bought peace with their freedom.
Christianity: redeem
bought us with his blood
Bribe, hire
buy a public official
to be the purchasing equivalent of
The dollar buys less today than it used to
Accept, believe
I don’t buy that hooey. —often used with into
buy into a compromise
Intransitive Verb
to make a purchase
Now is a good time to buy.
buy into
to purchase a portion of or interest in
the TV network bought into its local football team
buy it or buy the farm
to get killed
buy time
to delay an imminent action or decision: stall
Noun
something of value at a favorable price
Especially: bargain
It’s a real buy at that price.
an act of acquiring possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of something by payment especially of money : an act of buying, purchase
an undercover drug buy
How do you Conjugate the Irregular Verb Buy?
Here are some verb conjugations of the american english word buy:
Base form (infinitive): Buy
Present Tense/ Present Participle/ Simple Present
Simple Past Tense/ Past Participle of Buy
Future Tense
I buy
bought
Am buying
You buy
bought
Are buying
He, she, it buys
bought
Is buying
We buy
bought
Are buying
They buy
bought
Are buying
The History and Origin of the Word
The word buy has been used as a verb since before the 12th century. It was used at this time period and before to describe purchasing goods. You can find that much later than that the word buy was used as a noun. The first date found where buy was used as a noun was in 1879 used in the sense of “it’s a real buy at that price”.
The root language that you can trace the word buy back to is first and foremost Middle English. The word in Middle English was spelled “byen”. This Middle English word came from Old English “bycgan” and this was similar to Goth “bugjan”. All of these root words meant the same thing, they were verbs and used the first definition above “ to acquire possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of by payment especially of money: purchase”.
Synonyms for Buy
Cop – catch, capture, purchase
Pick up – to obtain by payment
Purchase – to obtain by paying money or its equivalent
Take – to get into one’s hands or into one’s possession, power, or control
Bargain – an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other
Next time you need to write the word buy, you will be well prepared for everything you need to know what it is and how to use it efficiently. You should feel confident with the different conjugations, the history of the word, and the definition.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
November 20, 2020
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