Bring and Get

[ihop]

Go get the ball.
Go bring the ball.

Go get it.
Go bring it

I don't want to say get, but due to style I say get instead of bring.
Basically, In the USA, I have started saying more get it instead of bring it.
But in India, if we say get it no one will understand thinking that it is not a correct one.

As per correct English I read that "get" is wrong. Is this true?

 

[Atchan]

Go get the ball.
Go bring the ball.

Go get it.
Go bring it

I don't want to say get, but due to style I say get instead of bring.
Basically, In the USA, I have started saying more get it instead of bring it.
But in India, if we say get it no one will understand thinking that it is not a correct one.

As per correct English I read that "get" is wrong. Is this true?

*** Not A Teacher ***

I'm not in American nor in India, but I think both of them have the same meaning and we can use both of them for same purpose.

Get has a lot of meaning but in your context is to go somewhere and bring back someone or something.
bring means to take or carry someone or something to a place or a person, or in the direction of the person speaking.

 

[rx-f]

1) Go get the ball.
2) Go bring the ball.

For me, 2) carries a stronger implication of returning here with the ball than 1) does. 1) might easily mean getting the ball and taking it somewhere else, whereas 2) probably doesn't.

Having said that, you can easily set up contexts where both sentences imply returning here with the ball, or where both imply going somewhere else with it - and neither is incorrect English.

Still, without context, as in your question, my intuition is that there's probably a slight difference in how the two sentences are likely to be used by native speakers.

 

[ihop]

Thanks all. Got it.

 

[bertietheblue]

Imagine you are somewhere in a playing field attached to a car park and your son's football is somewhere else in the playing field, so:

you (the speaker)----------------ball -----------car park

If your son is standing next to you or at any point on the line between you and the ball, you could say:

(i) 'Can you get the ball, please.' (son---->ball)

Why? Because:

'get' means make a movement towards something in order to pick it up.

If your son is at the ball but the ball is not in his hands, you could still say 'get' because your son has to make a movement towards it, ie reach down, to pick it up.

Depending on the context 'get' can also mean 'bring' (towards the speaker), so:

'get' means make a movement towards something in order to pick it up and bring somewhere.

(ii) 'Can you get me the ball, please.' (son---->ball ---->you)

(in which case 'fetch' is also possible)

or 'take' (away form the speaker), so:

'get' means make a movement towards something in order to pick it up and take somewhere.

(iii) 'Can you get the ball and take it to the car, please.' (son---->ball---->car park)

Combining those meanings:

'get' means to make a movement towards something in order to pick it up (or pick it up and bring or take somewhere)

You would only say 'bring' if you wanted your son to come back to you with the ball (and not the car park or elsewhere, away from you)* and your son:

(a) is beside the ball (in which case 'get' is also possible, as noted above); or

(b) has the ball in his hands (in which case, 'get' is not possible since there can be no movement towards the ball - it's already in your son's hands!)

So:

(iv) 'Can you get me/fetch the ball, please.' (son----->ball------->you)

(v) 'Can you get me/fetch/bring the ball, please.' (son->ball------>you) (note short arrow: the son is already beside the ball)

(vi) 'Can you bring the ball, please.' (son (carrying the ball)----->you)

(vii) 'Can you get the ball and take it to the car park.' (son----->ball----->car park)


* I'm simplifying the meaning of 'bring' by applying it to this context only; in other contexts 'bring' can mean to take to another place but I don't want to enter a lengthy discussion of the full meanings of bring/take (and come/go)

 

[bertietheblue]

I should say that this is my understanding and I'd be happy if anyone wants to add to or indeed correct the above.