Take/Bring

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What’s the difference between take and bring?

Take and bring and have very similar meanings: they both express movement from point A to point B.

When choosing the correct verb, the most important thing is the perspectives of the speaker and the listener.

Master the difference between take and bring with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises.

Example

Ruby doesn’t want to miss her plane so she calls a taxi to take her the airport.

In the taxi, she checks that she has brought her tickets and passport with her.

Her suitcase is full because she bringing gifts for her niece and nephew.

Unforunately, she has to work this weekend. So she’s taking her laptop with her.

Take: from here to there

  • Use take with movements away from the speaker’s location towards another destination.
Example:
Ruby calls a taxi to take her to the aiport.
  • Use take when someone moves something away from where you are.
Example:
Ruby is taking her laptop with her. (away from her home)

Bring: from there to here

  • Use bring with movements towards the speaker/listener/receiver.
Example:
She is bringing gifts for her niece and nephew.
  • Use bring when you move something with you to another place.
Example:
In the taxi, she checks that she has brought her tickets and passport with her.

Bring or Take: Changing Persepctives

Sometimes we can use bring or take. It’s always a question of perspective.

We use take when the action is seen from the perspective of the doer (the subject).

Example:
Ruby visits her niece and nephew once a month and always takes them gifts.
Seen from the perspective of the doer (Ruby), the gifts move away from the starting point A to the destination B

We use bring when the action is seen from the perspective of the receiver.

Example:
Ruby visits her niece and nephew once month and always brings them gifts.
Seen from the perspective of the receivers (the niece and nephew), the gifts move towards the destination point B from point A

To conjugate the verbs take and bring as well as thousands of others, go to our verb conjugator. To learn about another meaning of the verb take, go to our page on go/drive/ride/take.