Main Difference – Bring vs. Take
Bring and take refer to the movement of something from one location to another. The difference between bring and take generally depends on your point of reference for the action. The main difference between bring and take can be as described as follows. Bring refers to the movement of something towards a specific location. Take refers to the movement of something away from a specific location. For example, you take things for other people, and they bring things for you.
Bring – Usage and Meaning
Bring means moving something or someone to a specific place. Bring is an irregular verb whose past and past participle form is bought. When you say bring, the movement is either from where the listener is to where the speaker is, or from the speaker to the listener. To understand this concept better, observe the two dialogues carefully.
Dialogue 1:
A: Are you going to the kitchen?
B: Yes
A: Can you bring me a glass of water?
Dialogue 2:
A: Are you going to the kitchen?
B: Do you want me to bring you a glass of water?
In Both these examples, B will bring the water from the kitchen to the place where A is. (B→A) Here, the speakers see things from A’s point of reference or viewpoint.
Given below are some more examples of sentences which include the verb bring.
Can you bring me my coat?
He brought it home.
I wish someone would bring me a cake.
He is bringing us cupcakes.
Take – Meaning and Usage
Take means to move something or someone away from a specific location. The past tense of take is took and its past participle is taken. It refers to the movement of something from where the speaker or listener is to a different place. For example, you ask your friends if they want to take some of your books. Here, the books are moving away from your house.
The following examples will help you to understand this better.
He has to take the garbage out.
I’ll take her to her room.
The police took the suspect away.
She is taking these flowers to her teacher.
Difference Between Bring and Take
Observe the situation below to see how these two words are used in the same context:
Anna asks her friend Maria if she wants to take some cookies home. When Maria takes them home, her mother might ask why she brought them with her.
So we can trace the movement of flowers from Anna’s house to Maria’s house as indicated below.
From Anna’s viewpoint: Anna’s house →Maria’s house = TAKE
From Maria’s mother’s viewpoint: Anna’s house →Maria’s house = BRING
You can further observe the difference between bring and take in the following sentences.
My friend is not well, so I took flowers for her.
I’m not feeling well, so my friend brought me flowers.
In conclusion, the difference between bring and take can be summarized as,
Meaning
Bring is to move something or someone to a specific location.
Take is to move something or someone away from a specific location.
Direction
You Bring something here.
You Take something there.
Word Forms
Brought is both past tense and past participle of bring.
Took is the past tense while taken is the past participle of take.
