Bring vs. Take

How to use "bring" and "take" correctly

This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.

Bring is used to suggest movement toward the speaker (or, in some cases, the person being spoken to); take is used to suggest movement away from the speaker:

“Bring your textbook home tonight,” the teacher said.
Take your textbook home tonight,’ the teacher said.”

“Take your book to school tomorrow,’ the teacher said.”
“‘Bring your textbook to school tomorrow,’ the teacher said.”

I will take it to you right now.
I will bring it to you right now.

Related Resources

Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English

List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list

Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage

List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version

© 2006, 2008, and 2019 C. Brantley Collins, Jr.