Rene
When do I use take and when bring? I dont get it.. I have a question according to the verbs bring and take. The sentence is: Could you take your wallet with you? Why can I not use bring in this sentence? I mean, take is used if the speaker refers to something that has been moved to a different location (from here to there) and bring is used if the speaker refers to something that is at his current location (from there to here). But in this case there is no referring to the location of the speaker. The sentence is just about the position of someone else. The speaker neither took the wallet from here to there nor he brought it from there to here. Actually it has to be bring because you can assume that the person has to bring the wallet to the speakers location (from there to here). Ok, now Im confused.. Can you help me? Thanks in advance!
Feb 7, 2012 5:11 PM
Answers · 9
1
'Bring' involves motion toward the reference point of the speaker. 'Take' involves motion away from that same reference point. Ïf the person I am talking to is going out (away from me), I'd say "Could you take your wallet with you?" However, if I needed something from his wallet (an ID card perhaps) and he was coming to me, I'd say "Could you bring your wallet with you?" In the above case, you assume a certain context, even if it isn't mentioned. In the example you mentioned, the person being talked to must be going away from the speaker.
February 7, 2012
Thanks a lot to all of you! :)
February 7, 2012
The difference has already been explained. Bring = motion toward the speaker. Take = motion away from the speaker. The same as ''come" and ''go.'' BUT, and this is a big ''but," don't expect to hear most Americans observe the distinction. Most Americans of the boomer generation and later seem to consider grammatical "rules" more as "suggestions."......Sic volvere Parcas.
February 7, 2012
You made a very good question. The meaning of this sentence would stay the same, no matter which verb you used. What changes is not the semantic meaning, but the pragmatic meaning. You see, depending on whether you say "bring your wallet" or "take your wallet", you express different viewpoints. Basically when we speak, we see ourselves as the centre of the utterance. The time of the utterance and the location where we find ourselves will be seen as reference points.Let's say we're talking on the telephone, and I invite you to my birthday party which is next week. I don't have a camera, but I would like to make photographs, and I know that you have one. So, if I ask you: "Could you please bring your camera?", I am saying that from my point of reference, meaning that you would have to bring something to MY place, and I still see myself as the centre. If I say: "Could you please take your camera with you?", I'm imagining that I'm in your position, at the location where you are now, i. e. YOUR apartment. It is called deictic projection. We do it all the time, but we don't pay attention.
February 7, 2012
But it's def got no problem to say, "bring it THERE to her", has it? Like I say, really no big deal. Don't know.
February 7, 2012
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