bring him or take him?

[cmhagedorn]

I have been asking everyone I know and searching the web for the answer to this one question for weeks. I finally stumbled across this website and am so excited and can't wait to finally know the answer. It's a huge debate in my household right now. Do I bring him to work or take him to work?? The sentence I use that my boyfriend insists is incorrect is, "I have to bring Shaun to work at 3 o'clock." He insists its take and I pray he is wrong ha ha. Will someone be so kind as to end this dispute?

Thanks,
Christine

[Rover_KE]

I'm afraid you'll never end the dispute.

This discussion:

bring & take - WordReference Forums

might help.

Rover

[TheParser]

I have been asking everyone I know and searching the web for the answer to this one question for weeks. I finally stumbled across this website and am so excited and can't wait to finally know the answer. It's a huge debate in my household right now. Do I bring him to work or take him to work?? The sentence I use that my boyfriend insists is incorrect is, "I have to bring Shaun to work at 3 o'clock." He insists its take and I pray he is wrong ha ha. Will someone be so kind as to end this dispute?

Thanks,
Christine

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello.

(1) May I give you my two cents?

(2) Of course, I may be completely wrong, so do not bet the

house on my answer!!! Wait until you get better replies.

(3) After reviewing my books, I might have an answer:




(a) My books tell me that bring and takeare often interchangeable.

(b) I think that I am bringing him to work and I am taking him to

work are both "good" English.

(c) If ( a big IF!!!) I understand my books correctly, your decision to

use bring was the better choice.

(d) One expert (Mr. Bryan A. Garner) reminds us that:

bring is related to come in the same way that

take is related to go.

That is a VERY important thing to remember.

(e) Another expert (Ms. Patricia T. O'Conner) reminds us that:

The choice of bring or take depends on your point of view. That

is, are you thinking of the starting point (home) or your destination

(workplace). A super important consideration.

(f) Many people love their jobs. I am sure that you are one of them.

Therefore, maybe you are thinking ahead. Although you are physically

at home, your mind is at work. Therefore, when you speak, you are

speaking AS IF you WERE at work. So you say, "I am bringing him to

work." In other words: He is coming from home to your workplace where

you already are MENTALLY).

(g) Now, let's say that you hate your job. Then your mind would probably

be focused on your home. You might think: I do not want to go to work.

But I have to if I want to earn some money. I cannot leave my son here

by himself, so I will take him to work with me. That is: He is going to my

workplace from home.

(h) Therefore, your friend probably should not have criticized your

English, because he probably did not know how you were thinking.

He did not know whether you were thinking of your destination (use

bring) or thinking of the starting point (use take).

Thank you

P.S. Another example. You are at home. Your boss calls you. S/he asks

you to come to the office immediately. You say, "OK. Is it OK if I

bring my son?" You use bring because you are mentally in the boss's

office (although you are at home). If you were physically in his/her

office, you certainly would say, "I will bring my son here. He will come

here with me. OK?" The telephone puts you -- so to speak -- in the boss's

office (the destination -- not the starting point).