Bring vs. Take: A Grammar Lesson

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I wasn’t sure of the right answer on this one when a reader asked the other day.

After some research and a quick visit to Grammar Girl, I learned that it is a fairly simple rule, you bring something to where you are, you take something to where you are going.

Her example is, “I would ask Aardvark to bring Squiggly to my party next week, and then Aardvark would call Squiggly and ask, ‘May I take you to Grammar Girl’s party?’ I am asking Aardvark to bring Squiggly because I am at the destination—from my perspective, Aardvark is bringing someone here. Aardvark is offering to take Squiggly because he is transporting someone to a remote destination—from Aardvark’s perspective, he is taking someone there.”

Sounds easy, right? It is, but there are exceptions. For those you should go to Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips on the topic, here.

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