Bring versus Take
March 30, 2005
Someone just asked about the rule for bring versus take.
The general guideline is to use bring when something is being moved closer and to use take when something is being moved farther away. Sometimes, though, either word could be used just as well.
Examples
- Ben brought a friend home from school today.
- Lucy takes her blanket with her when she goes outside.
- Take a credit card with you when you travel to Seattle.
- Please bring that chair in here from the dining room.
Source: Capital Community College's Guide to Grammar and Writing
Comments (5)
Toni, I clicked the link. This is what I feel:
"I am taking the ......to....". Here you are addressing it to yourself or someone close by.
"I am bringing the....to..." Here you are announcing or addressing somebody else, who is not around you.
Am I right?
Mar 18, 2007 ; 2:37 AM
People who use bring instead of take, make my teeth go on edge. I know people with all kinds of degrees who do not speak correctly. The basic theory is - you take something somewhere, then you bring it back. I will take you somewhere, then I will bring you back! Simple
Aug 19, 2007 ; 1:21 PM
I searched a bit for bring/take myself and found this page: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/bring.html
So there seems to be many different explanations to the bring/take-topic.
Sep 23, 2007 ; 7:42 AM
sorry, I think this explanation is much too simple. For a better clarification (and to find out that it is indeed a quite complex issue), check out this other link I found.
Nov 7, 2006 ; 9:27 AM