Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[howtowhyis]

When do I use bring and when do I use take. Are the rules strict in using these words?

[Anuradha Chepur]

'to bring' is to fetch or to get. 'to take' is to get into one's hands.

[Lorikeet]

Hmm. I think "bring" and "take" sometimes are like "come" and "go". I can say, "Come here and bring me the book." and "Go there and take him the book." The one you choose depends on where you and the person you are talking to are. It's not so easy to make a hard and fast rule though.

[pugachevV]

I think if you say bring it generally means they are coming towards you: take means they are going away from you.
Please bring me that bucket and take this orange to your brother.
If it is you who are doing the action I think you take away and bring back.
On Sunday I'm taking some flowers to my mother and bringing her lawnmower home.
But of course, it's English, so it doesn't work all the time, as you will no doubt soon see.

[Anuradha Chepur]

To sum up Lorikeet and pugachevV, in English, one takes "from here to there", and brings it "to here from there".