In this episode, Linda takes a look at the differences between “borrow” and “lend”. Enjoy the episode!

Linda is a German/American ITTT alumna, teaching English in South Korea.

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This pair is often confused in the English language.

Let’s break it down:

Borrow is a verb and means to take or accept something for a short time with the intention of returning it to its rightful owner

May I borrow an eraser, please?

Now lend is quite similar but is used to express the situation from the other perspective indicating that something is given to somebody for a short time with the intention of getting it back instead of receiving

Would you please lend me a pencil?

So you need to think about whose perspective you are talking about. Who has the item in possession? If you have the item and you are giving it to somebody, you lend it to them. If they have the item in possession and you want to reiceive it, you borrow it from them.

Makes sense? I’m sure you’ll always get it right from now on!



That’s it for today. See you next time!