“Thought” or “Taught” – Confused Much?

Alright lovely people, it has been a while since my last post. Anyways, I feel moved to do a post after been constantly annoyed with some messages I’ve been reading. It all goes back to what seems so hard for most people these days: homophones.

What are homophones?

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings. 

Lately I’ve received a couple of messages where the word “thought” was improperly used in place of “taught.” While these words are not true homophones, they sound similar enough to be confused. 

But, my people, it is not okay to use “thought” in place of “taught.”

Taught is simply the past tense of teach. 

How to use the word taught in a sentence:

• My friend taught me how to drive a car. 

Thought on the other hand is the past tense of think: 

How to use “thought” in a sentence: 

• I thought you were going to eat dinner.

Thought can also be used as a noun. For example:

• I’ll give it some more thought.

So, there you have it. It does not get much simpler than this. “Thought” and “taught” are two different words; they are NOT interchangeable. Just a thought the next time you use these words.