Bring vs. Take

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Understanding the difference between commonly confused words will help you avoid making errors in English usage. Let’s examine the difference between the following:

bring

Bring means to carry something toward somewhere. It implies movement or action directed toward the speaker or writer.

When I’m ill, my husband brings me chicken soup.
When you tell your dog to “fetch,” you are asking him to bring something to you.

take

Take means to carry something away from somewhere. It implies movement or action directed away from the speaker or writer, or sometimes, “to go there with.”

Keith usually takes his wife out to dinner on her birthday.
Takeout is food that you take home with you from a restaurant.

In some cases, which word you use will depend on your location or perspective:

You would say, “The U.K. prime minister is to bring a delegation to China” if you were writing for a Chinese publication, because the action is toward China. But you would say, “The U.K. prime minister is to take a delegation to China” if writing for a U.K. publication, because the action is away from the U.K.

If you are at your home, you might say that you’ll take money to the bookstore today, and bring home the books you buy. Once at the bookstore, however, your perspective shifts: you then might say that you brought money with you, and will take the books home shortly.

Photo credits:

Photo 1: Image by Dave Francis from Pixabay

Photo 2: Image by jamesoladujoye from Pixabay

Photo 3: Photo by Tuur Tisseghem from Pexels