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I am looking for a word that I could use when I am asking someone to help me by taking something with them, and I’d like to stress that I am asking for this favour because I know it is not a big deal.

Examples:

  • Your family member is leaving the house and you shout:

    ??? the garbage please!

    meaning

    You are going outside anyway, so please take this garbage bag with you and dispose of it.

  • You are hosting a party and call your friend and tell them:

    ??? your playstation gamepads please!

    meaning

    We’d like to play some game for 4 players, and I have only 2 gamepads, I know it is not hard for you to bring yours too, so just throw them into your bag on your way out.

I think I saw “grab” used in this context, but I am not sure if it was correct, as I was under the impression that “to grab” has this “quick” meaning, but does not convey “easy” and “you won’t even notice it”, which are more important in these cases, as well as “it is not for your own benefit, but a favour I am asking for”.

3 Answers 3

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"Grab" Is correct in this context, though it is a very casual term you would probably only use with people you know very well such as family and friends.

You could also use the term "Pick-up"

"Pick-up the garbage on your way out please"

This is slighly more formal and polite.

Hope this helps!

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  • 2
    I agree with "grab". There is (a) a sense of picking something up quickly and (b) a sense that one hand is used (at least it suggests that to me). Example: Can you grab some milk on your way out of the supermarket please?, or He grabbed his keys and ran out of the room or A man on a motor-scooter grabbed the woman's bag and rode off rapidly." Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 19:04
  • +1 "Pick up" is an excellent answer to the question asked. It implies both "take with you" and "because it's convenient".
    – Andrew
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 19:59
  • 1
    I'm +1ing for "grab", personally. Pick up is just a request, while grab implies that it is easy - as in "grab and go" food/drink.
    – SamBC
    Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 21:54
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For garbage:

Would you mind taking (out) the garbage on your way out?

For gamepads:

Could you bring your Playstation gamepads with you when you come over?

These are both slightly more “polite” or “formal” ways of speaking than “Would you grab...” but neither of these questions is all that formal. Anyway, “grab” also works perfectly fine if you don’t mind speaking more casually, and I think it conveys the meaning you want.

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To expand on user91243's answer of "pick up": This is, I think, the best answer to the question asked, as it implies "take with you" and often "because it is convenient" (or, at least, "not too difficult")

Could you please pick up those cans and toss them in the recycling bin on your way out? Thanks!

Be sure to pick up your controllers before you head home.

However, with "trash" the most common idiomatic expression is "take out the trash".

Could you take out the trash when you head out? Thanks.

"Grab" is fine in some contexts, but it the literal sense it implies a kind of haste, or (to some extent) sloppiness in movement. For example, a child might grab for a piece of candy. It's this same kind of unplanned feeling that you get in idioms such as:

Hey, let's grab some lunch. I know a place nearby.

In this particular context, again, it's fine. I just wanted to clarify the possible nuance:

Make sure to grab all of your belongings before you head home.

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