"Understanding the Differences: Lending vs. Borrowing"

Intro

" Can you lend me your pen?"

"Can I borrow your pen?"

How do we ask for things? What about when we need to borrow something , or, when we we want to lend something? How do we talk about this? Do not worry, because soon, you will ask to borrow something without embarrassment! Lend and borrow are two verbs that are commonly confused, and by the end of the article, there will be no more confusion.

Lend

"I need to borrow some money, I will ask my mom to lend me some money."

In the example above, the speaker is saying that they need money, so they will ask their mom to give them some money. If you loan something to someone, you are giving it to them to use temporarily. Now, the important thing about lending, is that it is only temporary, the object that is lent, will be returned. You can think of lend as being similar to give.

• "I need to borrow some money, I will ask my mom to give me some money."

As you can see in the sentence above, the subject is asking their mom to loan (give them money temporarily), and the speaker will pay back the money later.

lend a hand, go over this

1. Can you lend me your pen? I need to jot down some notes.

2. My friend offered to lend me his car for the weekend trip.

3. The library is willing to lend books to its members for up to three weeks.

4. I'm happy to lend a hand with the gardening if you need any help.

5. If you're in a financial pinch, you could ask the bank to lend you some money.

6. Please don't lend your phone to strangers; it's best to be cautious.

7. He was kind enough to lend his expertise to the project, making it a success.

8. The museum decided to lend one of its valuable paintings to a prestigious art exhibition.

9. She offered to lend her support to the charity event, donating her time and resources.

10. I can't lend you my bike because I'll be using it myself today.

In the examples above, you can see that lend is very similar to give, and the objects are physical. For example, a pen, a car, a phone. However, in example four, seven and nine, what does the subject lend? They lend a particular quality. The meanings are slightly different and the definitions will be posted below.

According to Cambridge Dictionary:

• "to give something to someone for a short period of time, expecting it to be given back."

- This definition is similar to give.

• "If something lends a particular quality to something else, it adds that quality to it."

- This definition is similar to add to.

1. I'm happy to lend a hand with the gardening if you need any help.

• Lend a hand is an idiom that means to help or assist

1. He was kind enough to lend his expertise to the project, making it a success.

• The meaning of lend his expertise refers to offer or provide support, He is helping the project with his expertise.

1. She offered to lend her support to the charity event, donating her time and resources.

• Here, she is offering to providing or offering support as well. In a way it is similar to help.

Form

In English, there are many irregular verbs. I am sure you are wondering if lend is one of them! Well, if you guessed that is irregular, you are correct.

1. I lent my friend some money to help her with the rent last month.

2. He lent me his car for the weekend getaway, and it was a great trip.

3. The library lent me a few books, and I returned them on time.

4. They lent a hand in organizing the event, and it turned out to be a huge success.

5. The bank lent us the funds we needed to start our small business.

6. She lent her umbrella to a stranger caught in the rain.

7. Last year, the company lent its support to various charitable organizations.

8. My neighbor lent me his power tools when mine were being repaired.

9. The museum lent its precious artifacts to an international exhibition.

10. The professor lent his expertise to several research projects in the past.

As you can see, the past tense of lend, is lent. Thankfully, the past participle is also the same in this case!

Borrow

"I forgot my pencil, can I borrow yours?"

"I need to borrow the car to go to work."

Borrow is another way to ask for something. However, the difference is that when we borrow something, we take something. When we borrow something, we receive something temporarily. We take it with the intention of giving it back.

1. I need to borrow a pen from you to take notes during the meeting.

2. Can I borrow your laptop for a couple of hours? Mine is undergoing repairs.

3. He asked to borrow some money to cover his unexpected expenses.

4. She decided to borrow a book from the library instead of buying it.

5. My neighbor was kind enough to let me borrow his lawnmower for the weekend.

6. The students often borrow textbooks from the school library instead of purchasing them.

7. Could I please borrow your phone charger? Mine is not working.

8. They were happy to borrow the company's conference room for their team meeting.

9. She had to borrow a dress for the formal event since she didn't have one that fit the dress code.

10. The restaurant let us borrow extra chairs to accommodate the larger group of customers.

In each of the sentences above, borrow refers to, take temporarily. Is borrow a regular verb? Look at the sentences below and find out.

1. Yesterday, I borrowed a calculator from my friend to use in the math exam.

2. Last week, he borrowed my car to go on a road trip with his family.

3. She borrowed some money from her parents to pay for the concert tickets.

4. We borrowed a tent from our neighbors for the camping trip.

5. They borrowed a lawnmower from the community center for the community cleanup event.

6. My sister borrowed a few novels from the library during her summer vacation.

7. He borrowed his colleague's laptop for the presentation since his was not functioning properly.

8. Last month, I borrowed a bicycle from a friend to explore the city.

9. The team borrowed some equipment from another department to complete the project on time.

10. When I went to the beach, I realized I had forgotten my towel, so I borrowed one from a fellow beachgoer.

As you can see, borrow is a regular verb, so we add ed when referring to the past.

For question 10, do you know the verb tenses used?

• Past simple

• Past perfect

Summary

In summary, "lend" is about giving something temporarily, and the focus is on the owner of the item or resource. On the other hand, "borrow" is about requesting and using something temporarily, and the focus is on the person who needs or wants to use the item or resource.

Homework

Of course, there are times where we have borrowed, and there are times we have lent. Write about it in the comments.