Grammar Mishaps: Bring vs. Take
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What is the difference between bring and take?
A friend recently expressed to me her annoyance with people using these words incorrectly and asked me to write a hub about it. I often hear mistakes in the usage of bring and take. I hope this hub helps you clarify which to use in the proper situation.
The main point to remember is where the action is being regarded. You bring an item to the place where you reside and take them from where you are located to somewhere else.
An easy way to remember is, you take out the garbage and bring in the mail.
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Take
Take means to bear THERE or to take AWAY from the speaker
- I will take a salad to the picnic.
- Please take your plate to the dishwasher.
- You can take my coat with you to keep warm.
Bring
Bring means to bear HERE or move TOWARD the speaker.
- I will bring a salad home to eat.
- Will you bring the paperwork with you tomorrow for our meeting?
- I brought leftovers for lunch today.
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Any thoughts, contributions or questions?
This can be confusing. I'll try another way of explaining. If you are viewing the action from the point of arrival, use "bring". If you are viewing from the point of departure, use "take". When I come home, I will bring my work. (Your point of reference is from your home.) When I go home, I will take my work. (Your point of reference is from work.) I hope this helps. Robin
If I call someone and say "Don't forget to bring a sleeping bag." Can I assume that I can use either word since there is no way that "grammar" knows if I am calling from our origin or our destination? Is it safe to say that if the location of the speaker is unclear/unknown, either word would be correct? Jake
Hi Jake,
Great observation! If the point of origin is unknown, either would work.  Perhaps your use of either "bring" or "take" could be a clue; however, very few would probably understand this grammar game. ;)
For example:
Don't forget to bring a sleeping bag over to my house for our slumber party.
Don't forget to take a sleeping bag to the campsite.
very informative and easy to understand, there will be no doubt left after reading it
can we say for other person "bring your mobil with you" my boss told me this sentence and i confused why she didnt say "take your mobil with your self"
Bring and take - (simple) Don't make it difficult. It is not confusing.
You take it with you that's why it is called "Take out" at MacDonalds. If it goes with you, you take it. Take the trash out. Take the books to the library. Take it with you and put it over "there."
If it comes with you, you bring it. You bring something back from the store with you. Will you bring in the mail? Bring some milk back when you come over(here). Bring me a cup of coffee, please. Since the problem is the incorrect use of bring use take instead and you will be correct 90% of the time from what I hear in schools, on television, or read in books or the newspaper. It's take folks. Take, take, take........... just remember take (forget bring for awhile and this problem will balance itself out sooner or later. I have never heard anyone use take improperly, but bring is used incorrectly almost each time it is used (about 90% I'd guess).
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/traveltips/03/02/pa
"Once it's clear your passport is lost, bring your passport copy and any other traveling or ID-related paperwork to the nearest embassy or consulate during business hours."
Shouldn't it be 'take to the nearest embassy' in the sentence above?
Either works in this example, since the reader doesn't know the position of the writer. Written from the perspective of an Embassy official, the usage would be "Bring it to the Embassy". Written from the perspective of somebody in an administrive office somewhere the usage could equally be "Take it to your nearest Embassy". Being English, I would favour the "Take" option since it doesn't imply the reader will be going to the place where the writer works. Being a CNN (and therefore US) website, "Bring" is often used inappropriately.
In response to Obediah2's post I would offer this. If you say to someone, "Don't forget to bring your sleeping bag", you are implying that they will be moving towards you in doing so, perhaps meeting you at the party spot. If you say "Don't forget to take.." it would imply that you are not going to be there. After living in the USA for 12 years I still have to stop and think what people really mean when they use "Bring", since they generally do not account for the implied direction. To me, if someone says "When travelling to the desert, don't forget to Bring plenty of water", it implies they are either going to be there when I arrive, or maybe they live in the desert.
I'm glad you wrote this. I only wish that the people choosing to use 'bring' for every occasion would check here before grating my nerves.
Thanks again.
What about talking of someone moving you (the speaker) to or from somewhere. Such as, "Will you bring me to Minnesota with you?" Or is it, "Will you take me to Minnesota?"
To Mab,
As posted earlier, the use of bring and take implies the position or location of the speaker, listener, and object. (Bring it here; take it there)
So if the speaker was not in Minnesota he would say, "Will you take me to Minnesota?" By using the word bring, the speaker implies that he is located in Minnesota. So, how could the listener actually "bring the speaker" to Minnesota if he were already there?
What about when my student says 'I'll take the photo to our lesson'. As the lesson is in my house and she's talking to me, it should be bring. So it looks like it depends on the location of the person who's listening as well. Is there a grammar rule to express this?!
so is it safe to say if i have something to give to someone i ask the third person to bring it to the second person as if to say bring this to tiffany
bring is also used to mean to 'carry' or to keep or have in one's person.
![Bad grammar makes me [sic]](http://s3.hubimg.com/u/595850_50.jpg "Bad grammar makes me [sic]")
jimmythejock says:
3 years ago
i`m confused Robin does that mean that i can bring my work home with me,but i cant take my work home with me.....jimmy