the difference between words: bring and take

{ September 27, 2010 @ 1:46 am } · { the difference between words }

Bring_take

Last week, I went over the difference between “come” and “go”. This week’s blog entry is about “bring” and “take” which are used in similar ways to “come” and “go”. As I mentioned before, “come” is used when talking about the place where we are right now; the word “bring” is used in the same way – when talking about the place where we are right now. The word “go” is used when talking about another place; the word “take” is also used when talking about another place. For example:

I brought my dictionary to the class today. You can borrow it if you want to.

We have some extra sandwiches. You can take some home when you leave.

Sometimes we use “bring” when talking about a place where we are NOT right now. Again, in this way the words “come” and “bring” are similar. For example:

A: Can you bring some wine to my house for dinner tonight?

B: Ok, sure. I’ll bring some red wine. Is that ok?

In this case, person A uses “bring” because the other person is going to come to their home. In these cases, we always use “bring”. Person B also uses “bring” because they are speaking directly to the person whose home they are going to. However, if person B is talking to another person about this event, they will use “take”. For example:

I have to take some wine to my friend’s house for dinner tonight.

Person A will also use “bring” to talk about person B going to the place where person A is right now, even if it’s not their home. Person B will also use “bring” in this situation. For example:

A: I’m in conference room A. Can you bring me an extra copy of the report.

B: Of course, sir. I’ll bring one to you right away.

So, we use “bring” when someone is coming  to our home or when talking directly to a person about going to a certain place where the person is now, but if we are talking about another place, we use “take”. For example:

A: What kind of food shall we take on our picnic?

B: Let’s take some potato salad and ham sandwiches. I love them!

I hope everyone will now be able to use “bring” and “take” more easily.  🙂

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