bringen, holen or nehmen?
a2Three verbs about where something travels. bringen is taking it to someone, holen is fetching it and coming back, nehmen is simply picking it up, with no journey.
bringen
Towards someone, away from you. Usually with a dative for the person: jemandem etwas bringen.
Der Kellner bringt uns die Rechnung.The waiter is bringing us the bill.
holen
A there and back: going somewhere, taking something, returning with it. Often with gehen: etwas holen gehen.
Ich hole schnell Milch aus dem Keller.I will quickly fetch some milk from the cellar.
nehmen
Just the grasp, no journey. Also for transport, food and medicine: den Bus nehmen, ein Bier nehmen.
Ich nehme den Bus um acht.I am taking the eight o’clock bus.
The mistake
Kannst du mir ein Glas Wasser holen? - fragt der Gast beim Gastgeber, der schon in der Küche steht.
Kannst du mir ein Glas Wasser bringen?
Someone already where the thing is does not fetch it any more - they bring it. Holen presupposes the journey there.
Rule of thumb
Draw the path: bringen is an arrow away from you, holen an arrow there and back, nehmen no arrow at all.
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