Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Bring Versus Take
1
2
3
4
Meaning
Examples
Dialogues
Exercises
If A needs something and wants B to get it and carry it to him or her, A says, "Could you bring ___ to me?“ (or "Could you bring me ___ ?").
If A has something and A wants B to get it and carry it to C, A says, "Could you take ___ to C?" (B then takes ___ from A and takes it to C.)
Meaning
A B
A B C
The very common verbs bring and take are sometimes troublesome for learners of English. One reason this happens is because bring and take have almost identical meanings but are used for different "directions" in English: bring shows movement toward the speaker, but take shows movement away from the speaker.
Bring Versus Take Meaning
Bring
Take
Fetch
Use BRING to express movement towards or with a person that is at the current location.
For example:
Could you bring me that newspaper, please?
Have you brought the documents along?
Important Note: BRING is often used together with here to indicate a location close to the speaker.
Verb Forms: Bring - Brought - Brought - Bringing
BRING
Use TAKE to express movement away from a person to another location.
TAKE
For example:
We took our dog with us on vacation.
Do you take your briefcase with you to work every day?
Important Note: TAKE is often used together with there to indicate a location away from the speaker.
Verb Forms: Take - Took - Taken - Taking
Use FETCH to express the action of going to an object and bringing to back to the current location.
FETCH
For example:
Here Frankie! Go fetch the Ball!
Could you fetch the paper for me this morning?
Important Note: FETCH is often used as a noun to speak about the game of running and getting a ball or other toy with a dog.
Verb Forms: Fetch - Fetched - Fetched - Fetching
Word Explanation Example
bring to come to a place Can you bring me the Coke, please?
take to carry or move sth. from one place to another
Can you take the book to the library?
Special NoteIn some dialects of American English, people do not make a difference between bring and take. This seems very strange to people for whom bring and take are different.
Example: I will bring the steaks to the party.I will take the steaks to the party.
To an American, both sentences mean the same.
More examples:
Please take the baby from her bed and bring her to me.
If you want some tea, I'll be happy to bring a cup to you.
If you're finished with your tea, I'll be happy to take your cup to the kitchen.
I'll be happy to take the cup from you and take it to the kitchen.
You father is in his office and his mail just came.Could you please take it to him? He's expecting you to bring it to him.
Look at this sample situation. The boss says to her secretary:
Mary, please take this letter to the bank. They will give you some money. Take the money to the travel agent. They will give you some tickets. Then bring the tickets to me.
Note that the difference between bring and take is like the difference between come and go.
(Go to the bank, then go to the travel agent, then come to me.)
Remember:
Bring shows movement toward the speaker:
bring----> speaker
Take shows movement away from the speaker:
speaker ----> take
wrong:right:
*Could you bring your father's mail to him? He's upstairs.Could you take your father's mail to him? He's upstairs.
wrong:right:
*I need my calculator. Could you take it to me, please?I need my calculator. Could you bring it to me, please?
wrong:right:
*Mr. Smith is right over there. Could you bring this to him?Mr. Smith is right over there. Could you take this to him?
The normal rule is bring here and take there, from the speaker's point-of-view, and this is the important thing to understand. However, we do sometimes use them the other way round, usually when the speaker is looking at the situation from the listener's point-of-view. This typically happens in phone calls and emails, when the two people are in direct communication but different locations. Look at these emails:
I'm leaving Bangkok tonight. My flight lands in London at 6 tomorrow. Do you want me to bring some T-shirts?
Hi Fred. Awfully sorry, I took the office keys home with me by mistake. I'll bring them in tomorrow.
Exceptions: "Bring" and "Take" in Idioms
I suspect one reason some people are confused about "bring" and "take" is that there are many exceptions to the basic rules. For example, idioms such as "bring someone down a peg" and "take a bath" and phrasal verbs such as "bring up," "bring about," "take down," and "take after" don't comply with the rule that "bring" means to cause something to come to the speaker and "take" means to cause something to go away from the speaker.
Exceptions: “Bring” and “Take” for Future Events
Further, the simple rules fall apart when you consider an event in the future where nobody has arrived yet. Do you bring rum cake to the school bazaar or do you take rum cake to the school bazaar? It simply depends on where you want to place the emphasis of the sentence—which perspective you want to adopt.
If you want to focus on the school and write from the perspective of the bazaar, you bring the cake to the bazaar.
If you want to focus on your kitchen and write from the perspective of home, then you take the cake to the bazaar (which puts the focus on taking it away from your home).
When you start writing about the future and have to choose between “bring” and “take,” imagine where you are in the scenario, and make your word choice based on that location.
The Past Tense of “Bring”
As an aside, the past tense of “bring” is “brought,” as in, “He brought me flowers.” In some regions people say “brung” or “brang,” but it isn't standard English.
What About "Come" and "Go"?
An interesting note is that the words “come” and “go” follow rules that are similar to those for “bring” and “take.”
“Come” is like “bring”: you ask people to come here—to come to where you are. “Go” is like “take”: you tell people to go away—to move away from your location. Aardvark and Squiggly will come to my party, and when Aardvark calls Squiggly, he'll say, “Let's go to Grammar Girl's party.”
Look at these example sentences with bring:
Examples
Waiter! Could you bring me some water please.
I'm so glad you could come. Have you brought your sister?
Do you mind bringing another chair from the room next door?
Come over here and bring your drink with you.
How embarrassing! I can't pay the bill because I didn't bring my wallet.
Class is over! Don't forget to bring your homework tomorrow.
I hope you like red wine. I brought a couple of bottles with me.
Some scientists believe that comets brought water to Earth.
Look at these example sentences with take:
When you go shopping you'd better not take your car. The traffic's awful.
Taxi! Can you take me to the airport?
Could you go into town and take this letter to the bank.
Why hasn't anybody taken this rubbish out?
Yesterday, Lucy took her car to the garage for a service.
She's not here. She's taking her son to the doctor.
They asked the police: "Where are you taking him?"
It was the Apollo 11 spacecraft that took the first humans to the Moon.
A: Can you bring some wine to my house for dinner tonight?B: Ok, sure. I’ll bring some red wine. Is that ok?
A: What kind of food shall we take on our picnic?B: Let’s take some potato salad and ham sandwiches. I love them!
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.
A: Can you bring a pie to my party?B: Sure!
Short Dialogues
A: Don’t forget to take your jacket.B: Don’t worry.
A: I’m taking my favorite bikini.B: We are going to have a great time.
A: Bring me my coffee.B: Here you are.
A: It’s going to rain. Take your umbrella.B: Ok.
A: I’m taking a flight to Hong Kong tomorrow.B: Be safe!
A: Bring me the TV remote.B: Get it yourself!!!
A: Bring me my vitaminsB: Here you are.
A: Will you take that out?B: No, I’ll eat it here.
A: Bring in the paper.B: Got it.
Exercises Bring / Take
Bring, Take and Fetch
Bring / Take 2
Bring / Take 3
1. It's going to rain. Don't forget to ________________ an umbrella if you go out.
a. bring b take
2. The party's at 6pm. Don't forget to _____________ some wine if you come.
a. bring b take
3. I'm starving. I hope you remembered to _____________ some food.
a. bring b take
4. Have you _______________ the dog to the vet yet?
a. bring b take
B
A
A
B
Bring / Take. Choose the correct word and type the letter in the box provided and then click on “Check Answers”
Check Answers
5. Come here and _____________ this newspaper to your father.
a. bring b take
6. We can drive there. I ____________ the car with me.
a. bring b take 7. Number 7 always _____________ good luck.
a. bring b take
8. So in fact ____________ an extra coat was a good idea. It's freezing!
a. bring b take
9. I'm leaving now. See you in 15 minutes. Should I ______________ some wine with me?
a. bring b take
10. She's not here. They've _______________her to another hospital.
a. bring b take
B
A
A
A
A
B
Check Answers
Fill in the gaps. Use bring, take and fetch.
1. Don't forget to _______________ your books with you!
2. I'm going to _______________ my coat to the cleaner.
3. Can you _______________ me four celery from the supermarket please?
4. I've forgotten my keys. Could you _______________ them for me?
5. It's your turn to _______________ the dog for a walk.
6. The inhabitants have to walk a mile to _______________ water.
Check Answers
take
bring
fetch
bring
take
fetch
7. If you don't like this hat, _______________ it back to the shop and I'll change it for you.
8. A bus _______________ my children to school.
9. The postman has just come. Could you _______________ the letters please ?
10. _______________ that chair over here, will you ?
11. When you come to my house tomorrow, _______________ a bottle of wine with you.
12. Kindly _______________ the plastic bottles for me.
13. Don`t forget to _______________ your umbrella when you go out.
Check Answers
take
brings
fetch
take
bring
bring
take
14. David asked the waiter to _______________ him the bill.
15. He goes to Paris every week, but he never _______________ me.
16. Please _______________ my trousers to the dry cleaner next time you go.
17. My dog _______________ my slippers every time I got home.
18. Joana will _______________ her younger brother to her school.
19. Do you _______________ your exercise books home?
20. Jenny forgot to _______________ her lunch to work.
Check Answers
takes
fetches
bring
take
bring
take
bring
Bring / Take 2
1. ____________ this book to the library, please.
2. Could you __________ me some water, please?
3. He often _____________ his sister to her aunt.
4. When you come to my party, don't forget to ___________ something to drink.
5. Is Peter ____________ Steve to my party?
Check Answers
bringing
Take
bring
takes
bring
Use Bring or Take in each of the following and remember the correct tense.
6. He is ___________ out the rubbish now.
7. Can you ________________ the CD to your uncle, please?
8. My husband often _________________ flowers when he comes home.
9. Would you ________________ this to the shop for me?
10. Can you __________________ the car to the garage on Wednesday?
Check Answers
take
taking
take
brings
take
Can you ___________ me to the station?
a. bring b. take
I've ___________ my car with me.
a. took b. brought
Would you mind ___________ your newspaper over here?
a. taking b. bringing
She wants you to ___________ her away from here.
a. bring b. take
When you come to my house ___________ your sister with you.
a. take b. bring
If you go shopping, remember to ___________ your credit card with you.
a. bring b. take
Bring / Take 3
Check Answers
Take
Brought
Bringing
Take
Bring
Bring
• http://amerenglish.tripod.com
THANK YOU
Contact Us
Joel D. Aldrich
