Hi, everyone. I'm Alex from engVid. And, today, I want to give you a beginner
lesson on two words that are commonly confused by English learners. Those
words are: "borrow" and "lend". We use these words when we talk about using
something, or asking for something from someone, and you want to use it for a
short period of time. So, for example: Your friend has a pencil. You want to
use or you need to use a pencil, and you ask your friend: "Could I" — what word
do I use? "Could I borrow" or "Could I lend"? Hmm. Or do you say: "Could you
borrow me" or "Could you lend me"? Well, I'm going to tell you right now. So,
"Could I borrow your pencil?" "Borrow" is a transitive verb. So, you always use
"borrow", plus the object. Okay? So, "Could I borrow your phone?", "Could I
borrow your pen?", "Could I borrow your car this evening?" for example. So,
remember: "borrow", plus the object you want to use, or you want to borrow for a
short amount of time.
Another word... the other word is: "lend". Now, with "lend" — this is also
a transitive verb, which means it needs an object, but you need a primary
objects and a secondary object, or a direct object and an indirect object.
The indirect object is usually a person. So, you say: "Could you lend me your
phone?" for example. Or: "Could you lend me your" — I don't know — "your pen?"
Okay. I'm using pens, pencils, phones, cars. Very... four very different
things; except for pens and pencils. So, with "lend", you have to use you know...
"Could you lend..." "Lend" who? "Lend me", "lend my sister", "lend my father",
lend someone something. Okay? So, one more time. With "borrow": "Could I
borrow your pen?" With "lend": "Could you lend me your pen?" So, this is when
you ask for something; you request to use something. So, the common mistake...
and normally, I don't like mentioning mistakes in videos because students hear
the mistakes and sometimes that's what they remember from the video. But I want
to tell you, because I hear this all the time, is: "Could you borrow me?" Okay?
So, no. "Could you lend me?" or "Could I borrow...?" You can also use the word:
"let" with this. So, "Could you let me borrow...?" Right? So, "Could you allow
me to borrow...?" if you want to be a little more polite, a little more... not
formal, but a little extra polite. Okay? And the most common phrase that I've
used in this lesson to ask for something, especially if you are a
beginner student is: "Could you". Okay? "Could you let me borrow...?" Or: "Could
you lend me...?" Or: "Could I borrow something?"
So, just to finish this video, I'm going to make some requests and I want you to
repeat my sentences. Could I borrow your pencil? Could you lend me five dollars?
Could I borrow your phone? Could you lend me your pencil? Okay. So, I hope I
have helped you to erase the confusion between these two commonly-confused
words: "lend" and "borrow". If you want to test your understanding of this
material — as always, you can do the quiz on www.engvid.com. And
www.engvid.com has thousands of other lessons that you can watch. If you are a
beginner student, go: "Sort by", you know... beginner lessons, or
intermediate, or advanced. So, look at all of the beginner lessons we have on
www.engvid.com. Until next time, good luck with your studies and thanks for
clicking.