brung
Brought — the past tense of bring in everyday rural talk.
Also called brang.
Updated September 21, 2026
brung pronunciation
/BRUNG/
Meaning
Same job as "brought." Somebody carried it, hauled it, or showed up with it. You hear it at potlucks, ball games, and on the front porch when folks are talking about who came with what. Formal English wants "brought," but brung is how a lot of Southern and Appalachian mouths still conjugate it.
How folks use it
- “Who brung the banana pudding to the reunion?”
- “I brung you that spare tire from Uncle Ray's shed.”
Origin and etymology
Brung follows an old strong-verb pattern, like sing/sung or ring/rung. Brought won out as the standard form, but brung stuck around in dialect speech for centuries. It shows up a lot in Southern and Appalachian talk, and in the loyalty saying "dance with the one that brung you."
Frequently asked questions
Is brung wrong?
It's nonstandard. Teachers and bosses want "brought." Around home, brung is just how plenty of people say it.