take or bring?

I've just looked up take and bring in the dictionary but I'm still confused about these two words. For example: Is "I brought her to hospital" or "I took her to hospital" correct? Or are both versions possible?

Both are correct. "Take" and "bring" both have many different senses, as I'm sure you well know. But in this particular instance, they essentially mean the same thing.

Thanks!

You are very welcome. One possible cavil though: you may want to insert a "the" before the word "hospital" if you are learning American English. If however it's British English that you're studying then you are I think in the clear.

Yes, in British English it would just be 'I took her to hospital'. 'Take' and 'bring' also have a different meaning in this context over here. If you said 'I took her to hospital' it would imply you were not at the hospital now, but if you said 'I brought her to hospital' it would imply you were actually at the hospital when you said it. In British English 'to take something somewhere' implies you are somewhere now, and something being moved elsewhere in a direction away from you. 'To bring something somewhere' implies something being moved from elsewhere to where you are now. I know it is different in American English though.

In my opinion, there is essentially the same difference in Ame as in BrE, but this instance does meant the same thing in AmE.

"Bring the children over" - implies that the children are not where the speaker is and should be moved to where the speaker is.

"Take the children over" - implies the children are where the speaker is and should be moved from where the speaker is.

However, "I brought her to hospital" and "I took her to the hospital" do mean the same thing, and don't conjure up the same difference as above, as I get the picture of someone driving to the hospital with the person in tow either way.

I hope I am making sense...

Thank you very much for your detailed examples. I was confused about the explanations in the dictionary (bring...to take something or someone with you to the place where you are now, or to the place you are talking about / take...to move or go with someone or something from one place to another) because I didn't fully understand the difference - but now I think I do.

I assume it's the same in British English but In Australian English inserting a "the" before "hospital" gives a slightly different meaning. You put a "the" there if you're talking about a specific hospital. If it's not important which hospital you're talking about, you don't put "the" in.