Borrow and lend in everyday situations

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you can talk about borrowing and lending objects or money without confusing the giver and the receiver.

Borrow and lend

"Borrow" means to receive something temporarily. "Lend" means to give something temporarily. The two words describe the same event from different points of view:

• "Can I borrow your pen?" (I receive the pen.)
• "Can you lend me your pen?" (You give the pen.)
• "I borrowed a book from the library." (I received it.)
• "The library lent me a book." (The library gave it.)

A useful memory aid: you borrow from someone and lend to someone. "Borrow from" and "lend to" are the natural prepositions. "I borrowed five euros from my colleague." "She lent her umbrella to a friend." If you remove the preposition, the meaning stays clear: "I borrowed five euros." "She lent her umbrella."

Money, objects and time

Both verbs work with objects and money: "borrow a charger", "lend a bike", "borrow twenty pounds", "lend a small amount". They also appear with abstract things in expressions such as "borrow time", "borrow an idea", or "lend support". Examples: "The manager lent support to the new plan." "We borrowed ideas from another department." In these cases the temporary-use idea is looser, but the grammar is the same.

The past forms are regular: borrow -> borrowed; lend -> lent. "She lent me her notes yesterday." "I borrowed his jacket last week." "Lent" is irregular and worth memorising because "lended" is a common error.

Common mistakes

• "Can you borrow me a pen?" Use "Can you lend me a pen?" or "Can I borrow a pen?"
• "I will borrow you my book." Use "I will lend you my book."
• "She borrowed me her umbrella." Use "She lent me her umbrella."
• "I borrowed to him." Use "I lent to him" or "I lent him".
• "He lended me ten euros." Use "He lent me ten euros."

Related verbs

"Loan" can be a noun or, in some varieties, a verb. In British English "lend" is preferred for the action: "Can you lend me a pen?" In American English "loan" is also common as a verb: "Can you loan me a pen?" Both are understood, but "lend" is safer in international English. "Rent" and "hire" involve payment, while "borrow" and "lend" usually do not. "I rented a car for the weekend" implies payment; "I borrowed a car from my neighbour" does not.

Practice

Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets.

1. "Can I use your charger for a minute?" (borrow)

2. "She gave me her umbrella for the day." (lend)

3. "He received ten euros from his friend." (borrowed)

4. "The bank gave them money for the house." (lent)

5. Correct: "Can you borrow me your notes?"

6. Correct: "I lended him my bike."

7. Complete: "I ___ (borrow/lend) my book to Maria."

8. Complete: "Maria ___ (borrow/lend) my book."

Answers: 1. Can I borrow your charger for a minute? 2. She lent me her umbrella for the day. 3. He borrowed ten euros from his friend. 4. The bank lent them money for the house. 5. Can you lend me your notes? 6. I lent him my bike. 7. lent; 8. borrowed.

A speaking task

Describe three things you have borrowed recently and three things you have lent. Include who, what, and for how long. For example: "I borrowed a jacket from my sister for the weekend. I lent my neighbour a ladder for two days." This keeps the direction of the action clear.