This can drive you crazy

I do not consider myself a fanatic about many things. English grammar is one of those things. I do not think I am a fanatic about it. However, there are a few things that just get to me. One of them is the misuse of the words “bring” and “take”,

It is as if the word take has ceased to exist in terms of usage. People talk about bringing their dog to the store when they go shopping, or they want to bring their car to the dealer to get it serviced.

You do not bring your dog anywhere; you take your dog with you and take it to the store. You take him to the vet for a shot and after that, you take him home. You also take your car to the dealer and when it has been serviced, they return it to you so you can take it home.

So when do we use bring and when do we use take? Let’s use a couple of examples:

You ask your friend, “What should I bring to the party?” They respond, “Please bring cookies.” That is correct use of the word. But you do not bring cookies to the party; you TAKE them to the party. And when the party is over, you TAKE the rest home.

We could go around and around in circles, so I will try to be brief. The general rule is that you ask people to bring things to you and you take things to other people. In other words, if you are somewhere and another person is somewhere else, you ask them to bring you whatever you want. If you are moving that something away from where you were, you take the something with you.

Ask yourself where the speaker is located. If the something is being moved away from the person speaking, it is being taken. If the something is moving toward the speaker, it is being brought. “Take this pen to the teacher. When you are finished, bring it back to me.”

A takeout order from a restaurant is not a bringout order. But you order takeout and then the delivery person brings you your food.

When you eat in a restaurant, the server brings you your food, but when you are finished, you take the leftovers home.

Sadly, some of you will have no idea what I am talking about because the rule has been so abused that most people are oblivious to what the rule is, let alone how it is used.

So enough for today! Could you BRING me an aspirin so I can TAKE it for the headache I now have?