The Differnce Between 'LOAN' and 'BORROW'

The email read:"Hey friends...I am in need of chairs on Tuesday. Anyone willing to borrow one to me? Let me know and I will pick it up!!! THANKS!!!"The use of the word borrow in the above statement is an honest and common mistake, let's see if we can fix it.Interestingly enough, the concepts of 'borrowing' and 'loaning' seem to be humongous challenges in the use of the English language because these concepts relate to action taken and direction intended.As an adult English Language Learner this concept was very new to me and my GED Teacher explained it very well, it made a lot of sense. However, after going out into the English-speaking world I found it interesting that the difference between 'loan' and 'borrow' was often misused.Experience and my good friend Webster (Dictionary) have taught me that the term 'loan' is a noun and means the act of letting someone else use something that you personally already own. The term 'borrow' is a transitive verb and means something someone else already owns and gives you permission to use.Both of these terms when properly used make a lot of sense.Let's elaborate with some examples:Your car, your books, your shoes: Yes, you can loan out things that you already own. For example: you can loan out your car to your son, you can loan out your books to your co-worker, and you can also loan out your shoes to a friend.However, you can never 'borrow' out your car to your son, or 'borrow' out your books to your co-worker, or 'borrow' out your shoes to a friend.Why not?Because to 'borrow' means that someone else already owns that car, book, and/or shoes, they are NOT your property!To borrow means to gain temporary possession of something that belongs to someone else.Following are proper examples for 'borrow'...May I please borrow your car?May I please borrow your book(s)?May I please borrow your shoes?May I please borrow some money?Two main points to remember here are that if an item belongs to you then you can loan it out, but if an item belongs to someone else, then you borrow it from them.Following are proper examples for 'loan'...Would you please loan me your car?Would you please loan me your book(s)?Would you please loan me your shoes?Would you please loan me some money?Now back to the opening email example:Original email:"Hey friends...I am in need of chairs on Tuesday. Anyone willing to borrow one to me? Let me know and I will pick it up!!! THANKS!!!" Corrected email: "Hey friends...I am in need of chairs on Tuesday. Anyone willing to loan me one? Let me know and I will pick it up!!! THANKS!!!"Yes, these are difficult concepts to explain and hopefully the examples above help clarify the correct usage of the terms loan and borrow in the English Language. The two main points to remember are:Loan is a nounBorrow is a transitive verbBest to You! Krystalina Soash is a freelance writer and trilingual interpreter with two published works, "Your Positive Potential: Action Steps for Self-Empowerment" and "Writing Tips for Student Projects... " You may visit Krystalina at http://www.writingforyounow.com and at http://www.yourpositivepotential.com Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Krystalina_Soash/62957

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