student asking question

Do "take back" and "give back" have the same meaning here?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Good question. The phrases do not have the same meaning. "Give back" is a phrasal verb which means that you return something to someone. For example you would 'give back' money (the thing) to a friend (the person) because you owed them some. On the other hand "take back" is another phrasal verb, however its meaning is to to return something to its original position. For instance, you got something from someone and want to return it to original owner. Ex: I'm going to take the dog back to my mom's house. Ex: Hey! Give me back my bag.

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