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Which of the following sentences is more suitable?

  1. He delivered me to Peshawar in a BMW.
  2. He carried me to Peshawar in a BMW.

Should I use delivered or carried?

7 Answers 7

12

It might be delivered, but that sounds like you were a package.
The car carried you not the driver.

A better alternative would be

He drove me to Peshawar in a BMW.

7

You deliver things- a parcel, some goods, a meal. You do not deliver people.

When you carry comething, you move it bodily- in your arms or on your back.

You could consider eiher drive or take. both would imply that he is driving the car.

2
  • I spent some time trying to think of some good counterexamples – like: I delivered our daughter back to campus after spring break and we carried her suitcase in the back seat – but they all sounded so awkward I gave up and decided to upvote. Unless the O.P. is a pizza, drove and took are indeed much better choices than delivered or carried.
    – J.R.
    Mar 20, 2016 at 10:39
  • I have heard somebody say that they had delivered their daughter to college, but the choice of words was intentionally facetious.
    – JavaLatte
    Mar 20, 2016 at 13:29
6

"He drove me..." is neutral.

"He delivered me..." implies that your presence at Peshawar had been demanded. "The boss sent for me. I was delivered to Peshawar in a BMW." Or there's a (possibly humorous) implication that the passenger(s) were considered as goods. "We called the girls' school for some dancing partners. Several were delivered in a BMW."

1

The sentence is about taking someone to some place in a car, so delivered is more appropriate.


Here is a related definition of deliver given by Macmillan:

deliver
1b. to take someone to a place where they will be guarded or taken care of
deliver someone to: He was safely delivered to his hotel.

The other choice, carry, can be used for taking someone (or something) somewhere, too, but if the trip happens in a vehicle, it's used when the vehicle does the action (i.e., the vehicle is the subject of the sentence), not the driver. For example,

carry
1d. if a vehicle carries someone or something somewhere, it takes them there
An airplane carrying 120 passengers has crashed in India.

3
  • Interesting answer, with some good references. That said, I think the "where they will be guarded or taken care of" part of the definition of deliver is vital. If the O.P. is a wanted criminal and there is a safe house in Peshawar, then delivered would be fine. If it's just a ride home from our golf outing, though, I don't think delivered is the best word to use. Similarly, carry works well when citing impersonal facts ("My minivan can carry seven passengers," e.g.), but it seems a bit too impersonal if I'm talking about giving you a lift somewhere.
    – J.R.
    Mar 20, 2016 at 10:45
  • 2
    @J.R. Me either. I thought to myself before posting this answer, "In what dialect or register would people use 'delivered' this way?" -- I wrote my answer because I thought nobody would answer the question (but I finished typing my answer third). My natural choice would be drive, too. Then again, I believe that this question was taken from a test or an exercise in a book, that's why I focused only on the two verbs. Personally, I agree with all your points. Mar 20, 2016 at 11:15
  • 1
    @J.R "delivered" would be appropriate (but slightly facetious) if after the golf outing, your activities at the 19th hole had left you somewhat inebriated. (Note "taken care of" in the dictionary definition).
    – alephzero
    Mar 21, 2016 at 0:01
0

I think the best phrase is "He brought me to Peshawar." That leaves any question of vehicle type or reason for going completely out of the phrasing.

1
  • Unless you want to emphasize the mode of transportation, or vehicle type (which I assume the O.P. wants to do in this case, given the BMW reference).
    – J.R.
    Mar 21, 2016 at 0:35
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"Brought" is still the best choice for modern English usage. "Delivered" and "carried" both have a strong connotation of a non-human object; "brought" can be used with human and non-human objects.

-1

According to the current text of the question, it is impossible to answer as there is not enough context. By what means of transport did you get to Peshawar?

'Carried' implies 'carrying by hand', which is normally unlikely. 'Delivered' is normally used for a package, but might be suitable here. 'He drove me to Peshawar in a BMW' is probably what you want.

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