Nehmen means taking or choosing something; bringen describes moving something or someone to a destination or recipient.
The idea
Learn du nimmst, er nimmt and hat genommen. Bringen has the participle gebracht. With a recipient and an item, bringen can take dative plus accusative: mir das Buch bringen.
| Form / Muster | Beispiel / Gegensatz |
|---|---|
| nehmen | ich nehme / du nimmst / er nimmt |
| bringen | ich bringe / du bringst |
| Perfekt | hat genommen / hat gebracht |
Examples
- Ich nehme den blauen Stift.
- Nimm bitte einen Teller!
- Sie bringt uns frisches Brot.
- Wir nehmen den Bus zum Markt.
- Bringst du mir ein Glas Wasser?
- Er hat seinen Pass mitgenommen.
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Watch out
Keep the direction and verb pattern in view: nehmen can mean taking or choosing something, while bringen delivers it. A recipient is dative in Bring mir das Buch.
Try it yourself
Du ___ den roten Bus. (nehmen)
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nimmst
Answer: “nimmst”. Check the subject: this verb changes its stem in du and er/sie/es, not generally in the plural.
Kannst du mir Wasser ___? (bringen / nehmen)
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bringen
Answer: “bringen”. Bringen focuses on moving the item toward a recipient or destination.
Sie hat einen Kuchen ___. (bringen)
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gebracht
Answer: “gebracht”. The auxiliary already carries the tense and person; the final verb needs its past participle.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Du ___ den roten Bus. (nehmen)
Kannst du mir Wasser ___? (bringen / nehmen)
Sie hat einen Kuchen ___. (bringen)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write a two-line conversation around “Ich nehme den blauen Stift.”. Use the target expression in your reply and make its intended meaning clear.