bring, take

Note: You’ll find an in-depth discussion in the Common Grammatical Mistakes section of Grammar.com. Click here for the beginning of that discussion.

Once again, entire chapters could be written about the subtle distinctions between these two words. The most obvious mistakes for most writers though probably involve some of the less subtle distinctions. Generally, bring should be used when something comes toward you from someone or somewhere else and take is used when something moves away from you toward someone or somewhere else.

Way too many writers—most notably the writers of the Seinfeld series—use bring when they mean “take.” In one episode, Elaine is talking about going to dinner with yet another date. Jerry says, “Be sure to bring your credit card.” He meant, of course, “Be sure to take your credit card.”

Example: Please bring me the contract and then take it to your office after we sign it.