Common English Blunders

“Bring” vs. “Take”

Common English Blunders, Verbs, Versus

I frequently hear “bring” when the speaker means “take” instead.

Problem:
The verbs “bring” and “take” are not interchangeable.

Explanation:
Use “take” when you (or another speaker) are telling the listener to transport something to a location other than where you (or another speaker) currently reside.

“Take” Examples:
1. Please take this package to my friend in London.
2. Jim, who today is in Houston on business, asked Mary to take the package to his friend in London.

Use “bring” when you (or another speaker) are telling the listener to transport something to a location where you (or another speaker) currently reside.

“Bring” Examples:
1. Please bring the package to me.
2. Jim, who lives in Denver, asked Mary to bring the package to him from his friend in London.

Solution:
Use “bring” when the person making the request is at the destination.
Use “take” when the person making the request is NOT at the destination.

“Irregardless”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Self-negation

I saw this in a company document.

Problem:
“Irregardless” is meaningless in that it means the opposite of what is intended.

Explanation:
People use “irregardless” when they mean the adverb “regardless”. The confusion could come from the fact that some words can be negated with the “ir” prefix. “Irreverent” is the opposite of “reverent”; “irregardless” is meaningless, on the other hand.

Solution:
“Regardless”

“On behalf of myself and other company Leaders, I want to thank you …”

Capitalization, Common English Blunders, Pronouns

I read this in an email message.

Problems:
1. Any first-person pronoun should go at the end of a list.
2. An “On behalf of” phrase should never include a first-person pronoun.
3. Reflexive pronouns should not be joined with other nouns.
4. Roles that are not job titles should not be capitalized.

Explanations:
1. One should put others first in a list. Here are two examples:
Incorrect: “He gave it to me and Jim.”
Correct: “He gave it to Jim and me.”
Incorrect: “I and Jim are downstairs.”
Correct: “Jim and I are downstairs.”

2. “On behalf of” implies that one party is doing something as a substitute, proxy, or delegate for another party. So “On behalf of myself” makes no sense and implies either an out-of-body experience or too much pride.

3. Even if problem #1 and problem #2 did not exist, it is incorrect to combine a reflexive pronoun (such as “myself”) with other nouns or noun phrases (such as “other company leaders”).

4. The word “Leaders” is not a job title — at least, not in the context of the problematic sentence — and therefore should not be used in this sentence as a proper noun. So it should not be capitalized.

Solution:
“On behalf of other company leaders, I want to thank you….”