Bring vs. Take


You might think that choosing between bring and take is simple. However, the decision can occasionally trip you up if you're not careful. How do you pick the right one, you ask? It's all about your point of reference.

If someone is carrying an item towards you, they are bringing it to you. If you are carrying an item to someone else, then you are taking it to them. In short, people bring you things and you take them away.

Example

When I was watching the weather report last night I saw that it's supposed to rain pretty hard today, so you'd better take your umbrella with you.

Since this speaker is telling you to move something from where you are to someplace else, the word she should use is take. If she were in the rain and wanted you to transport that umbrella to her, she could ask you to bring it to her. But she seems to be pretty on top of the weather report, so we're guessing that's not going to happen.