BRING and TAKE are both irregular verbs.
If you BRING something, you move it towards something else:
If you TAKE something, you move it away from something else:
Compare:
If you visit someone in a hospital, you bring flowers.
(…because you are going towards the hospital.)
When you leave the hospital, you take your bag with you.
(…because you are going away from the hospital.)
If you go to a birthday party, you bring a gift.
(…because you are going towards the party.)
When you leave the party, you take a piece of cake with you.
(…because you are going away from the party.)
Teacher: Can you please bring me a glass of water?
(….because the student is going to move water towards the teacher.)
Teacher: Can you please take these glasses to the sink?
(…because the student is going to move the glasses away from the teacher.)
Bring and Take are also used in phrasal verbs and idioms and don’t always have the same definition as you see above ↑
For example:
bring up (phrasal verb) to mention a topic
I can’t believe she brought up my ex-boyfriend in front of Jerry.
bring to a close (idiom) to end something
I’ll bring this meeting to a close with a few jokes.
take up (phrasal verb) to try a new activity
I’ve decided to take up yoga.
to take something into account (idiom) to remember something while doing something else
Whenever my brother visits me, I have to take into account that his girlfriend is a vegan.
to take the piss (idiom, slang!) to joke about someone
You need to stop taking the piss. My boyfriend does not look like Justin Bieber!
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