It carried the mouse back to its nest.

Meaning: The owl took the mouse back to the place where it lives and raises its young.

Choice of Words: Carried means to take something from one place to another. Nest is a structure built by a bird for laying eggs and raising young.

Alternative Expressions

The cat carried the mouse back to its nest.

Meaning: This sentence tells us that the cat took the mouse back to the place where the mouse lives. The cat is carrying the mouse, and the mouse's home is its nest.

Choice of Words: The cat is the one doing the carrying. Carried means to transport or move something from one place to another. The mouse is the one being carried. Back means to return to a previous location. The nest is where the mouse lives. So, putting it all together, the sentence means that the cat took the mouse back to where it lives.

The cat brought the mouse home to its nest.

Meaning: This sentence also tells us that the cat took the mouse back to where the mouse lives. But this time, we're using the word brought to say that the cat took the mouse to its specific home, which is its nest.

Choice of Words: The cat is still the one doing the carrying, but brought is a different word than carried. Brought means to take something to a specific place. In this case, the cat is taking the mouse to its nest. Home is another way of saying nest. So, this sentence means the same thing as the first one.

The cat returned the mouse to its nest.

Meaning: This sentence tells us that the cat gave the mouse back its home, which is its nest. The cat had taken the mouse away from its nest, but now it's giving it back.

Choice of Words: This sentence is a little bit different from the first two. Returned means to give something back to its rightful owner. In this case, the mouse is the rightful owner of the nest. So, this sentence means that the cat gave the mouse back its home.

Related Expressions