ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bring back

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to return something to its original place or to make you remember something from the past.

phr. v.. to return an object to its source; also used figuratively to evoke memories or to reintroduce a previously discarded practice or law.


SIMPLE

Please bring back my book tomorrow.

CONTEXTUAL

Seeing those old photographs really brought back memories of our childhood holidays by the sea.

COMPLEX

The local council is under pressure to bring back the traditional market days to revitalise the struggling town centre.

Particles
back
Separability
optional
Pattern
bring + (object) + back
Usage

when used for memories, the object is usually 'memories' or a specific time period.

Teaching tip

distinguish between the physical sense (returning an object) and the psychological sense (recalling a memory); the latter is a very common collocation in English exams.

Pitfall

Bring back it to the shop.Bring it back to the shop.when the object is a pronoun like 'it', it must go between the verb and the particle.

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