Takemeans ‘move with something or someone from where the speaker or listeneris to a different place’:
Can youtakethis to the post office for me, Neil?(Neither the speaker nor the listener is at the post office.)
See also:
Bring,takeandfetch
Take: other meanings
Takecan mean ‘remove without permission’:
Four valuable paintingswere takenin the burglary and some of my mother’s gold jewellery.(The paintings were stolen.)
Takecan mean ‘accept’:
Does the restauranttakecredit cards?
We can usetaketo mean ‘have’ when we talk about things we add to our food:
Itaketwo sugars in my coffee but none in my tea.
We don’t usetakewhen we talk about having a meal or a drink:
After the cinema we usuallygo fora pizza.
Not:After the cinema we usually take a pizza.
Why don’t wehavea coffee together tomorrow?
Not:Why don’t we take a coffee together tomorrow?
We usetaketo talk about time and duration:
Ittakesless than two hours to get to Rome from here.
Ittookus a week to paint the house.
Phrases withtake
We usetakein a lot of phrases, especially with nouns. In these cases, the meaning oftakedepends on the noun:
take advantage(of something)
take (someone’s) advice(about something)
take care(of something)
take charge(of something)
take an interest(in something)
take notice(of something)
take ownership(of something)
take part(in something)
take responsibility(for something)
take time(to do something)
take a booking/reservation | take a holiday | take a risk |
take a break | take a job | take a test |
take a bus | take a look | take a train |
take a chance | take a photograph | take a trip |
take an exam | take a plane | take a walk |
The concerttookplacein a 17th-century church.
Twelve hours later the medicinetook effectand she felt much better.
We usetakewith different particles:
take after | take on |
take apart | take out … on |
take away | take over |
take from | take up |
take in | take to |
take off |
Steve reallytook toSan Francisco.(= liked)
I think I shalltake upjogging in the mornings.(= begin jogging)
The plane didn’ttake offuntil five o’clock.(= didn’t leave the ground)
A good learner’s dictionary will provide a full list of phrases withtakeand the particles used withit.
See also:
Verbs: multi-word verbs
Typical errors
We don’t usetakewhen there is movement with something to the speaker or the listener:
Can youbringme the book from the desk, please?
Not:Can you take me the book from the desk, please?
We don’t usetakewhen we talk about having a meal or a drink:
Wehadlunch together and talked a lot.
Not:We took lunch together…