Bring vs. Take

[LauraM]

Bring and take are two verbs that are not interchangeable.  There is often some confusion as to which one to use as they seem to mean the same thing. 

Bring means to come to a place with something, or arriving somewhere with something.

Take means  to carry something with you when you go. 

The differences are more clear when we use examples. 

If you are going to the store, you take your money with you.  You call your friend whom you are going to meet at the store and tell him, "Don't worry, I'm going to take plenty of money with me."

When you get to the store and meet up with your friend, he might ask you, "Did you remember to bring the money?"  You would then say, "Yes, I did remember to bring it."

Here another one.  Let's say you're sitting down.  You ask your friend to bring you the newspaper.  When you finish reading it, you get up and you take it with you and put it in the recycle bin.

So now you know the difference!  Can you think of some other examples? 

[SpiralArchitect]

"Just bring it" and "Take it away". Simple.

Incidentally, 'get' is a word that with a few additions replace 'bring' in certain sentences. Anyone else with a similar opinion?

"Bring it to me."

"Get it for me."

[LauraM]

"Just bring it" and "Take it away". Simple.

Incidentally, 'get' is a word that with a few additions replace 'bring' in certain sentences. Anyone else with a similar opinion?

"Bring it to me."

"Get it for me."

Yes, exactly.  It's  in daily conversation that people sometimes make the error of interchanging the two verbs.  This is an error that native speakers of English sometimes make, too.  When we choose which verb to use we have to remember our perspective.

You're also right that "get" can substitute for "bring" as in that example.  Let's say, I am at a restaurant.  I can ask a waiter to "get me another cup of tea" or I can ask him if he will "bring me a cup of tea."  They are interchangeable. 

[SpiralArchitect]

I reread what I had written and doesn't bring suggest a certain amount of authority?

I mean "Bring it to me."

or

"Get it FOR me."

'Get' at least in this example seems to suggest a request. Bring seems more like a demand.

Or maybe I am over-thinking?

[Alfonso]

Bring and take are two verbs that are not interchangeable.  There is often some confusion as to which one to use as they seem to mean the same thing.

 

This is a pretty cool topic, I remember thinking about this when I was in high school. I'm just wondering about the two words being non-interchangeable. What about these two examples;

"Take the dog with you" and "Bring the dog with you."

"Bring grandma to the hospital." and "Take grandma to the hospital."

They both seem grammatically correct and have practically the same meaning in my perception, what do you think?

[Daedalus]

I think it's 'bring' when the thing you're bringing is the purpose of the trip. "Bring the dog to the vet" implies the dog has to be checked out. But "Take the dog to the vet", you go to the vet for something else, and just happen to have the dog with you.

[LauraM]

 

This is a pretty cool topic, I remember thinking about this when I was in high school. I'm just wondering about the two words being non-interchangeable. What about these two examples;

"Take the dog with you" and "Bring the dog with you."

"Bring grandma to the hospital." and "Take grandma to the hospital."

They both seem grammatically correct and have practically the same meaning in my perception, what do you think?

It would still be "Take the dog with you."   

Same with your second example. It should be "Take grandma to the hospital."  Or alternatively: "When you go to the hospital, take grandma with you."

I think it's 'bring' when the thing you're bringing is the purpose of the trip. "Bring the dog to the vet" implies the dog has to be checked out. But "Take the dog to the vet", you go to the vet for something else, and just happen to have the dog with you.

Same with your examples as well. It would be "take the dog to the vet" regardless of the purpose of the trip. 

The defining factor is the perspective:

Take = to carry or transport something or someone to a destination

Bring = to arrive at a destination with something or someone. 

If you are at home and you go somewhere you "take" something or someone with you.

Once you reach your destination, you can then say that you remembered to "bring" something or someone with you.  Or past tense you "brought" something or someone with you. 

[limon]

Interesting, I hadn't thought of this before.

There are definitely instances where they seem interchangeable. If I brought a friend along to an event I might say I took him there. But it's subtle sometimes.

[Oakster]

The way I think about it is:

bring is from *there* to *here*

take is from *here* to *there*

But I can see there are situations where it's more complicated than this of course.

[deyvion]

Now when I am thinking about it, I've had some difficulties with this one sometimes. Really great and simple way to show how it is to be used. Thank you! =)

[Guest chives152]

I have one question about this, does the destination when using bring have to be defined? I say "make sure to bring that with you", a lot when telling someone to take something with them. Is this proper use of the word?