grapefruit
先輩
- 2 Sep 2008
- 500
- 9
I have a question. When do you use "take" and "bring" in sentences like "I brought friends to..."? Would the use be any different if what comes after the verb is a physical object instead of an animate entity?
I suppose in some situations, one is appropriate while the other isn't.
Let us say you have taken/brought a friend to a party.
If you are still AT the party, the use of "take" would be wrong.
"Hey, grapefruit! Thanks for the invite. Here, I've brought a friend of mine."
To me, the difference between "taking a friend to a party" and "bringing a friend to a party" is that in the former, the main event is going to the party with the friend while in the latter, it is going to the party, and your friend going with you is secondary.
the difference between "taking a friend to a party" and "bringing a friend to a party" is that in the former, the main event is going to the party with the friend while in the latter, it is going to the party, and your friend going with you is secondary.
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Examine these 2 sentences:
I took my daughter to her school.
I brought my daughter to her school.
Both of these sentences mean the exact same thing. No difference.
The meanings of those two sentences are both different and completely clear.
To me, the difference between "taking a friend to a party" and "bringing a friend to a party" is that in the former, the main event is going to the party with the friend while in the latter, it is going to the party, and your friend going with you is secondary.
I took my daughter to her school.
The speaker accompanied his daughter to school, and is now speaking at some location other than that school.
I brought my daughter to her school.
The speaker accompanied his daughter to school, and is now speaking at that school.
Bring and take differ in the direction of motion wrt to the speaker. It seems that in American English at least this difference is being lost, much in the safe way that imply and infer are misused.
Please bring a bottle to my party!
The speaker is speaking either literally or figurative from the location of his party, so he uses bring
Let's take a bottle to Bob's party!
The speak is not at the location of the party, so he uses take.
Both of these sentences mean the exact same thing. No difference. However, it is more common to say "took" in this context because, as grapefruit is thinking, the parent is not staying at the location. I really want to emphasize that it is merely "more common". Please don't think of it as horribly wrong to say "brought" in this situation. Native speakers will use both in normal speech. For example, you will often hear these expressions: "Take your daughter to work day" or "Bring your daughter to work day". Both of these sentences mean the exact same thing. In other words, 'bring' and 'take' are often used interchangeably. However there are certain situations where you would use one and not the other.
I understand how it can be confusing because there's no difference between "you took a friend to a party" and "you brought a friend to a party". If you want to suggest that the friend provided you company, you would say: "I brought a friend with me to the party" or "I took a friend with me to the party". Still, this is only a suggestion. It doesn't mean that the friend necessarily stayed by your side during the festivities.
...much in the safe way that imply and infer are misused.
This makes sense. Thank you Taiko666-san.
Just to clarify, in the last example "Let's take a bottle to Bob's party!" the main point is to go to Bob's party with a bottle, isn't it? If the main point is simply to go to Bob's party and to bring a bottle is secondary, then would "Let's bring a bottle to Bob's party!" sound more appropriate?
I've literally split my sides with laughter!!! Messy.That one drives me crazy, but not as much as people using "literally" like it's a cooler version of "very" or some sort of intensifier (because it's not nearly as common). Good example of that misuse, from someone who's supposedly a doctor of something talking about Britney Spears: "she's literally on a roller coaster to hell." Interesting, doc. Tell me, where is this roller coaster, and why has it not been reported before?
There are no subtle nuances involved; the choice of bring or take is based solely on the direction wrt the speaker. So it's "let's take a bottle to Bob's party." "Let's bring a bottle to Bob's party" is actually illogical.
According to this explanation, no direction with respect to the interlocutor is involved...... isn't it:?"taking a friend to a party" and "bringing a friend to a party" is that in the former, the main event is going to the party with the friend while in the latter, it is going to the party, and your friend going with you is secondary.
Taiko666-saaaan! I'm more puzzled now.I thought you said the distinction between bring and take is
According to this explanation, no direction with respect to the interlocutor is involved...... isn't it:?
You mean this quote?Sorry there grapefruit! The text you've quoted ended up in my post by accident. I actually wholeheartedly disagree with that explanation.
There are no subtle nuances involved; the choice of bring or take is based solely on the direction wrt the speaker. So it's "let's take a bottle to Bob's party." "Let's bring a bottle to Bob's party" is actually illogical.
"taking a friend to a party" and "bringing a friend to a party" is that in the former, the main event is going to the party with the friend while in the latter, it is going to the party, and your friend going with you is secondary.