Tuesday Tip: Bring vs. Take

Tuesday Tip

"The difference between  'bring' and 'take' has to do with the location of the speaker and the location of any other actors who will be bringing or taking something from some place to some other place."

— C. Edward Good, A Grammar Book for You and I… Oops, Me!

Take is a verb which means an action which will proceed away from the location where the person is currently located. You can think of it as the action "to take away." Many writers use the word "bring" when they really mean "take." For instance:

• Incorrect: He should bring a lunch, as it will not be provided.
• Correct:   He should take a lunch, as it will not be provided.
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Bring should be used when the actors in the sentence are returning or bringing something back. 

The two words get even more confusing when you're writing about two people who are not in the same place. For instance:

• If James is going on a date with Susan, James will be taking his car, but Susan will think that James is bringing his car. (In such a case,  the use of both verbs is correct.)