Bring or Take
Hi, in today's lesson we're going to look at the verbs bring and take.
OK, so these verbs might seem simple but they cause many problems even for advanced learners.
So, in this video you're going to learn how to use them with confidence,
but keep watching until the end to see how much you've learned when there'll be a short quiz.
So let's start with bring.
Bring means moving something or someone
but what you need to understand about both bring and take
is that they represent direction of movement.
For bring, the movement is either from where the listener is to where the speaker is
or from the speaker to the listener.
Don't worry, I'll give you examples for this . Stay with me.
So bring is an approaching verb. It represents movement towards the speaker or listener
when the speaker is talking.
Here is an example of movement towards the speaker.
"Bring your dog with you today we can go for a walk."
or
"Bring me the bill," in a restaurant.
The movement is here from where the listener is towards the speaker.
Here is an example of movement towards the listener, this time.
So, imagine you're on the phone and you say,
"I need my phone. I forgot it at your house last night."
And the other person replies,
"I'll bring it over this afternoon."
The movement is here from where the speaker is towards the listener.
But, it can also be movement towards where the speaker and listener will be in the future.
Here is an example of this.
Ray and Sam are organizing a party for tomorrow night.
They're on the phone again.
So, one says, "Can you bring drinks?"
and the other one says,
"I will bring snacks."
OK, they will both be there tomorrow.
Here, the movement is towards the future destination.
OK, so now let's look at "take."
This is a departing verb. It represents movement away
from where the speaker or listener is when the speaker is talking.
Think, take away and then you can always remember.
Think of the direction of movement and its is it towards or away from the speaker
and then you can decide if it's bring or take.
So, take means movement with something or someone
from where the speaker or listener is to a different place
So, imagine you're in the Headmaster's office at school
and the head says,
"You need to take your registration form to the secretary's office."
Both the listener and the speaker are in the Headmaster's office
and the secretary's office is in a different place.
Here, it's movement away so we use take.
Or another example is
"I can take you to the station tomorrow what time's your train?"
Here, neither the speaker or the listener are at the station
it's in a different place
so we use take.
Or John says, "I always go back to Spain at Christmas.
I take my family gifts."
And Bill replies, "Cool!"
Here, the speaker and the listener are not in Spain
the movement is away from their position
and Bill will not be in Spain at Christmas,
so we use take.
So, to recap: in English when we use bring and take
depends on the position of the speaker or listener when the speaker is talking
and the direction of movement.
So, now it's your turn...
Fill in the gaps with either bring or take.
1. In a restaurant. Customer:
"Can you blank me the wine list?"
Waiter: "Certainly, sir."
Here the answer is bring.
The movement is towards the speaker.
2. Son: "Can you blank me to the railway station tomorrow?"
Mum: "Of course darling."
Here the answer is take.
The movement is away from where both the speaker and the listener are
now to a different place, the station.
3." I can't wait to see you in London!"
"Me too!
I will blank an umbrella in case it rains."
Here the answer is bring.
Both the speaker and listener will be in London
and the direction is towards where they will be.
Please remember to blank my card
so you can contact me easily next time.
Here the answer is take.
The movement is away from the speaker
and therefore we use take.
OK, so that's it for today.
You now know how to use bring and take in English.
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and there are more lessons in this playlist that you might enjoy too!
So, that's it for now but I will see you very soon.
Bye, bye!
bring or take