Bring for or Bring to?

written by Bill Teach

'I brought you some flowers.'

The subtlety of the English language could make learning a bit more challenging. The use of some transitive verbs, those that require objects, could be structured in two different ways according to what you think is more important.

For example:

• I sent Jane some flowers. (In my perspective the person 'Jane' receiving the flower is more important). 
• I sent some flowers to Jane. (In this case, the focus is on some flowers)

Of course, they mean the same thing, the difference lies in what you prioritize. 

From the grammatical stand point, in the first sentence we have the Indirect Object (Jane) and the Direct Object (some flowers), in the second, the Direct Object (some flowers) is followed by the prepositional complement (to Jane).

What about the verb Bring? Is it followed by to or for?

Again, it actually depends on what you want to say:

• I brought some flowers for you. (As a gift) /  I brought you some flowers.
• Bring that remote to me. (From one place to another) / Bring me that remote.