"send" vs. "fetch"

I was waiting for the elevator this morning when I heard a conversation between these two students:

Sareen: Hi, morning. You drove here today?
Chong: No, my mother fetched me here.

At a glance, nothing appears to be incorrect. However, the word “fetch” is not suitable; it means “pick up” from a place.

fetch (v.): go somewhere, and bring that person back

Therefore, Chong should have said: No, my mother sent me here.

As an analogy, when you throw a stick and you want your canine to go pick it up and bring it back to you, what do you say? “Fetch!” 🙂 You could also use “take” instead of “send“, and “pick up” instead of “fetch“.

Examples:

1. I’m waiting for my parents to fetch me. = pick you up from somewhere
2. Could you please send me to school? = take you from one place to your destination – school)
3. I’ll get a taxi to take (not fetch) me to your house.
4. Could you take (not fetch) me to the nearest hospital, please?
5. I’m late. I’ve to pick my son up (fetch) from school.
6. Dad’s picking mom up (fetching); she’s already waiting at the station.