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Bring and take are the two terms that are pretty simple to understand, but still, most people are confused about them.
When carrying something with yourself, bring is the correct word to use here, whereas when carrying something away, take is the word to use. Both words might indicate similar use.
But once you understand the critical factor, whether the movement is happening towards or away from the speaker, you can easily distinguish between both terms.
Key Takeaways
- Bring means to convey something to the place where the speaker or listener is.
- Take means to carry or move something away from where the speaker or listener is.
- Bring focuses on a movement toward the speaker or listener, while a take focuses on moving away from the speaker or listener.
Bring vs Take
Bring is used when the speaker is referring to something being brought toward the location where they are currently located. For example, Can you bring me a glass of water? Take is used when the speaker refers to something being taken away from the location where they are currently located.
Use “bring” to get something to you and “take” to give something away. In this way, you will never forget the uses of both words.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Bring | Take |
|---|---|---|
| Movement | Here movement occurs towards the speaker. For example, Brad told Jim to bring some food with him. In this case, the food movement will happen towards the speaker, Brad. Therefore, the word Bring is used here. | Movement happens away from the speaker. For example, Brad told Jim to take the car from his garage to the party. Here the car’s movement will happen away from the speaker, Brad. So the word Take is used here. |
| Differentiating factor | In the case of being, something is carried towards someone. | In the case of take, something is carried away from someone. |
| Position | The motion occurs towards the destination. | The motion occurs away from the initial or starting point. |
| Present Participle | Bringing | Taking |
| Past Participle and Perfect Participle | Brought | Taken |
What is Bring?
Bring is a verb used to denote movement towards someone or something. Like, Martin said, “Bring some food to the party”.
Here bring is showing the movement of food towards the speaker.
You can’t phrase the sentence like Take some food to the party as this changes the meaning of what Martin is trying to say.
In the same way, you can ask someone Can I bring my cousin to your house? But you cannot say it like Can I take my cousin to your house as this is incorrect concerning what you are trying to say.
The other person will also reply to you the same way: You can bring your cousin to my house or Please, bring some food to the party.
The use of bring totally depends on the direction of the movement. Once you can understand the direction of the movement, you can easily decide whether to use bring or take in a particular sentence.
Always think about where the direction of motion is in the sentence. If it’s towards the speaker, then use the word Bring with no doubt in mind.
What is Take?
Take is also a verb that denotes movement away from someone or something. Like Martin said, “Take this book with you”.
In this case, the book has to be carried away from the speaker, so the word take has to be used here.
Whenever the action shows movement away from the starting or initial point, it is definite that take will be used here. Again, it’s the direction of the action which tells you whether to use Bring or Take in a particular sentence.
It is not that difficult to decide what to use where once you learn to differentiate between the action taking place towards the speaker or taking place away from the speaker.
Sometimes, take is used in different ways, too. For example, Reading all these books would take too long.
In this sentence, the word ‘take’ is used as a synonym for the word ‘use’. It is expressed here that reading these books will use too much time.
Similarly, you can say Take the first left, then a right, and reach the college. Here, take is also a synonym for the word ‘use’.
Main Differences Between Bring and Take
- Bring is used when the motion of something is happening towards the speaker. At the same time, Take is used when movement is happening away from the speaker.
- When you ask someone to deliver something, you must use “Bring”. However, when you ask someone to lay hold of something from you, you must use the word Take.
- Bring is used when you want to show the motion to a destination. However, Take is used when you want to show the motion away from the initiation point.
- The present participle for ‘Bring’ is ‘bringing’, while the word ‘Take’ it’s ‘taking’.
- Bring is used when the speaker wants or gets something. For example, Robert brought this cake to me.
However, Take can also be used in place of the word ‘use’. For example, Take this road and keep driving until you reach your destination.
