Learn English – Take care or be careful

word-choice

I'm a non-native speaker. I'm having a problem with "take care" and "be careful". This problem comes from a text:

Jack: "I've got to go, Sarah. So long."
Sarah: "So long. Jack. And…"

A. be careful
B. don't hurry
C. take care
D. don't take it seriously.

I choose "be careful" but my teacher choose "take care" as the answer.
Can someone explain this to me, please?

Best Answer

It depends on context, but 'take care' is a standard goodbye. Be careful would be appropriate if Jack was going to do something dangerous, and Sarah wanted him to stay safe. Take care technically means the same thing, but idiomatically is used as a way of saying goodbye.

Related Topic