##  [Bring, take](/writing-tips-plus/bring-take)

##  Avertissement

Ce contenu est offert en anglais seulement.

## On this page

- [“Bring” vs. “take”](#bring-vs-take)
- [Bring](#bring)
- [Use with “come”](#come)
- [Take](#take)
- [Additional information](#additional)

## “Bring” vs. “take”

The verbs **bring** and **take** have similar meanings and can be easily confused. They both mean to carry something or accompany someone from one place to another.

But these two verbs are not interchangeable. One indicates movement toward, and the other movement away from, a given location.

## Bring

The verb **bring** indicates movement toward a place.

**Bring** can indicate movement toward the **speaker’s** location:

- June brings pie with her whenever she visits me.
\[June comes to the speaker’s home.\]
- I’ve brought a casserole for the potluck.
\[The casserole has travelled with me (the speaker) from my home to the potluck (my present location).\]

**Bring** can also indicate movement toward the **listener’s** location:

- We’d love to come to dinner! Should I bring anything?
\[I’m coming to the listener’s home.\]
- I hope Mitri brought back the book you loaned him.
\[Mitri brought the book to the listener.\]

**Bring** can even indicate movement toward a **third person’s** location (as seen from the perspective of the third person):

- I asked Marie-France if we should bring anything, and she asked us to bring some wine.
\[From Marie-France’s perspective, we’re coming to her home and bringing some wine with us.\]

### Use with “come”

Note that the verb **bring** is similar to the verb **come**: they both indicate movement toward a location.

In combination with **come**, we use **bring**:

- We’ll bring some wine when we come to your home.
\[**not** We’ll take some wine when we come to your home.\]

## Take

The verb **take** indicates movement away from a place.

**Take** can indicate movement away from the **speaker’s** location:

- I told Greg to take his pet tarantula someplace else!
\[Greg needs to move his tarantula away from the speaker’s location.\]
- I think I’ll take a casserole to the potluck.
\[I (the speaker) will be moving away from my present location.\]

**Take** can also indicate movement away from the **listener’s** location:

- Phone conversation: Don’t forget to take your swimsuit to the pool party.
\[The listener will be going away from their present location.\]
- I’d like to take you out for lunch when I’m in town.
\[In going out for lunch, the listener will be moving away from their present location.\]

**Take** can even indicate movement away from a **third person’s** location (as seen from the perspective of the third person):

- Cleo forgot to take a swimsuit to the pool party.
\[From Cleo’s perspective, she went away from home without a swimsuit.\]

**Note:** The distinction between **bring** and **take** isn’t always clear-cut. Even when moving away from their current location, English speakers often use **bring** when they’re focusing on their destination:

- “I think I’ll bring my favourite game to Amina’s party,” David mused.

Here, David is seeing himself already at the party, game in hand. So the location on which he is focusing is the party, and he uses **bring** for movement toward his imagined location.

But if he were focusing on his actual current location, he would use **take** for movement away:

- “I think I’ll take my favourite game to Amina’s party.”

In situations like this, both verbs are accepted.

## Additional information

- [Confusable words: “Bring” or “take”?](/en/quiz/confusable-words-bring-or-take-eng) \[quiz\]

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## Rechercher par thèmes connexes

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- [Grammar and syntax](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A476#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)
- [Verbs](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B0%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A476&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A488#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)
- [Vocabulary](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A500#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)
- [Easily confused words](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B0%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A500&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A501#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)

## Liens connexes

- [Writing Tips Plus](/fr/writing-tips-plus/index-fra) (page d’accueil)
- [Outils d’aide à la rédaction](/fr/outils-tools/index-fra)
- [Navigateur linguistique](/fr/navigateur-navigator) (permet de trouver rapidement des conseils linguistiques)
- [TERMIUM Plus®](http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-fra.html?lang=fra)