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I did some exercises on my book and there was an awkward sentence if I read it. It said:
Fill the gaps with bring back or take
- When she went to Belgium, she __ me __ some chocolates.
It's sure the answer is brought back, but is it okay to say she brought me back some chocolates? Why is it not she brought me some chocolates?
"Bring back" is a separable phrasal verb, which can take one or two direct objects. With two objects, the verb can be separated by a noun/pronoun referring to the receiver of the second object.
So "She brought me back some chocolates" is correct. It means "She came back (from some distant place) and brought me some chocolates. The distant place in your example is "Belgium".
The use of "went" in the first part is a little confusing, as it really means "When she took a trip to Belgium (which includes going spending time and returning)" Since the second part uses "bring back", you know that you didn't actually get the chocolates until after she returned.
