What is the difference between 'lend' and 'borrow'? I always confuse them.

Question

Accepted Answer

**The key difference:** They're opposites. The direction of the thing being transferred determines which word to use.

**Lend:** You give something temporarily to someone else.
- "Can you lend me your pen?" (Give me your pen temporarily)
- "I lent him my car." (I gave him my car temporarily)
- The lender gives.

**Borrow:** You take something temporarily from someone else.
- "Can I borrow your pen?" (Take your pen temporarily)
- "I borrowed his car." (I took his car temporarily)
- The borrower takes.

**The trick:** Think of direction.
- Lend = going out (away from you)
- Borrow = coming in (towards you)

**Most common mistake:**
- "Can you borrow me your pen?" ✗ → "Can you lend me your pen?" ✓
- This is extremely common and native speakers will understand, but it's not standard English.

**"Can I borrow...?" vs "Can you lend me...?"** - both are correct, just from different directions:
- "Can I borrow your umbrella?" (I'm the borrower asking)
- "Can you lend me your umbrella?" (I'm asking you to lend)

**A related word:** "loan" - this is the noun form of lend. "Can I have a loan of your pen?" or "He gave me a loan." As a verb, "loan" is used in American English more than British: "He loaned me his car."

**Register:** Both are neutral - appropriate in all contexts.

**Tags:** grammar, vocabulary, common mistakes, verbs, intermediate English