“He borrowed me some money.”; right or wrong?
Can we use borrow as I have in the above sentence in a sense like;
He borrowed (from someone for) me some money.
I wonder if there was a better way of expressing the idea that I am meant to.
Clarification: borrow there is not mistakenly used instead of lend.
indirect-objects ditransitive-verbs
add a comment |
Can we use borrow as I have in the above sentence in a sense like;
He borrowed (from someone for) me some money.
I wonder if there was a better way of expressing the idea that I am meant to.
Clarification: borrow there is not mistakenly used instead of lend.
indirect-objects ditransitive-verbs
add a comment |
Can we use borrow as I have in the above sentence in a sense like;
He borrowed (from someone for) me some money.
I wonder if there was a better way of expressing the idea that I am meant to.
Clarification: borrow there is not mistakenly used instead of lend.
indirect-objects ditransitive-verbs
Can we use borrow as I have in the above sentence in a sense like;
He borrowed (from someone for) me some money.
I wonder if there was a better way of expressing the idea that I am meant to.
Clarification: borrow there is not mistakenly used instead of lend.
indirect-objects ditransitive-verbs
indirect-objects ditransitive-verbs
asked yesterday
Zeeshan AliZeeshan Ali
356113
356113
add a comment |
add a comment |
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions with this verb is regional.
I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.
P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:
Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.
Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.
Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
|
show 23 more comments
You could, in theory, however it would only cause confusion in my opinion. For the sake of clarity, I would go with "he borrowed some money for me."
New contributor
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
add a comment |
Wiktionary says:
- (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
Quotations
1681 “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84, columns {{{columns}}}:
I went out and borrowed him a night cap; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
Still doesn't quite feel natural to me, but I'm not a native English speaker. Many people will probably have to think twice to understand who is borrowing what from whom for whom else. You're probably better off being more explicit:
He borrowed some money for me from ...
New contributor
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
add a comment |
The shortest way (I can come up with) for saying someone who has borrowed money from another person or entity in order to lend it to a third party would be the following
- He borrowed money to give me
The OP's sentence is, from a purely technical viewpoint, ungrammatical. Many native speakers would criticise (an English language teacher would mark it as being incorrect) and say that the past participle of the verb lend, i.e. lent should be used instead.
- He lent me some money
The OP's suggestion, WITHOUT context, sounds ambiguous to me. Maybe nowadays it sounds perfectly acceptable in the US and in the UK, and speakers would not be confused, I simply don't know anymore. As I get older I see that life's little certainties diminish little by little.
- He borrowed me some money
Did the subject, "he", borrow money from the speaker? OR Did "he" lend money to the speaker?
Adding the parenthesis (from someone for) is wordy, confusing and plain bad style, in my humble opinion.
P.S. if the parenthesis was added for the sake of clarity it should go after the sentence, not in the middle.
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
I think it's gramatically OK, but I'd avoid using it.
I've heard it used colloquially (Black Country, UK), but it had/has a slightly different meaning to the one I think you mean. In that "He borrowed me some money" would mean the same as "He lent me some money" or "I borrowed some money from him".
Likewise "borrow me some money?" can be used to mean "Can I borrow some money?".
That use isn't widespread [from my experience], and definitely informal. I'm not sure it's used outside that area ... but it does exist, so I'd avoid using it because it could be interpreted as that (not knowing the right word, so using a similar word in place ... or intentionally using the 'wrong' word)
New contributor
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f194522%2fhe-borrowed-me-some-money-right-or-wrong%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions with this verb is regional.
I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.
P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:
Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.
Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.
Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
|
show 23 more comments
Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions with this verb is regional.
I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.
P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:
Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.
Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.
Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
|
show 23 more comments
Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions with this verb is regional.
I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.
P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:
Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.
Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.
Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius
Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions with this verb is regional.
I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.
P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:
Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.
Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.
Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius
edited 13 hours ago
answered yesterday
TᴚoɯɐuoTᴚoɯɐuo
112k686181
112k686181
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
|
show 23 more comments
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
65
65
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
I think it is worth pointing out that saying "He borrowed me some money" when the person means "He loaned me some money" is quite a common but bad error. I would steer clear of saying "he borrowed me some money" in favour of "he borrowed some money for me" to avoid people assuming I meant borrowed and have poor grammar.
– Eric Nolan
yesterday
7
7
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
Tᴚoɯɐuo - I think you're wrong, although that is commonly said. Should be "He borrowed a sizeable chunk of change for me". @Eric - that's really common in Manchester (UK) - "can you do us a borrow?"
– Justin
yesterday
5
5
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
@Justin: It's really no different than He found me a private detective. It's a dative construction.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
3
3
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
I am surprised to see a native speaker endorse this usage! To me (UK) it sounds like a foreigner's solecism.
– TonyK
yesterday
19
19
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
I think the point of many of these comments is that while it may be technically grammatical and could be understood, it's not idiomatic because it sounds more like an error than the literal meaning.
– Barmar
yesterday
|
show 23 more comments
You could, in theory, however it would only cause confusion in my opinion. For the sake of clarity, I would go with "he borrowed some money for me."
New contributor
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
add a comment |
You could, in theory, however it would only cause confusion in my opinion. For the sake of clarity, I would go with "he borrowed some money for me."
New contributor
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
add a comment |
You could, in theory, however it would only cause confusion in my opinion. For the sake of clarity, I would go with "he borrowed some money for me."
New contributor
You could, in theory, however it would only cause confusion in my opinion. For the sake of clarity, I would go with "he borrowed some money for me."
New contributor
New contributor
answered yesterday
MarkMark
411114
411114
New contributor
New contributor
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
add a comment |
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
12
12
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
+1 It may be worth emphasising that the potential confusion ("Did they actually mean 'lent'") is exacerbated by OP being a non-native speaker - even though OPs construction is perfectly correct.
– Bilkokuya
yesterday
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
I'd agree with @Bilkokuya. As a native speaker, if someone said the phrase to me I would have assumed they meant "he lent me some money."
– Dan
11 hours ago
add a comment |
Wiktionary says:
- (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
Quotations
1681 “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84, columns {{{columns}}}:
I went out and borrowed him a night cap; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
Still doesn't quite feel natural to me, but I'm not a native English speaker. Many people will probably have to think twice to understand who is borrowing what from whom for whom else. You're probably better off being more explicit:
He borrowed some money for me from ...
New contributor
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
add a comment |
Wiktionary says:
- (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
Quotations
1681 “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84, columns {{{columns}}}:
I went out and borrowed him a night cap; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
Still doesn't quite feel natural to me, but I'm not a native English speaker. Many people will probably have to think twice to understand who is borrowing what from whom for whom else. You're probably better off being more explicit:
He borrowed some money for me from ...
New contributor
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
add a comment |
Wiktionary says:
- (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
Quotations
1681 “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84, columns {{{columns}}}:
I went out and borrowed him a night cap; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
Still doesn't quite feel natural to me, but I'm not a native English speaker. Many people will probably have to think twice to understand who is borrowing what from whom for whom else. You're probably better off being more explicit:
He borrowed some money for me from ...
New contributor
Wiktionary says:
- (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
Quotations
1681 “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84, columns {{{columns}}}:
I went out and borrowed him a night cap; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
Still doesn't quite feel natural to me, but I'm not a native English speaker. Many people will probably have to think twice to understand who is borrowing what from whom for whom else. You're probably better off being more explicit:
He borrowed some money for me from ...
New contributor
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
98.6k8127244
98.6k8127244
New contributor
answered yesterday
jcaronjcaron
1735
1735
New contributor
New contributor
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
1
1
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
Good use of citation/example. It's a grammatically correct construction, but an uncommon one - it sounds awkward/unnatural to me.
– V2Blast
19 hours ago
add a comment |
The shortest way (I can come up with) for saying someone who has borrowed money from another person or entity in order to lend it to a third party would be the following
- He borrowed money to give me
The OP's sentence is, from a purely technical viewpoint, ungrammatical. Many native speakers would criticise (an English language teacher would mark it as being incorrect) and say that the past participle of the verb lend, i.e. lent should be used instead.
- He lent me some money
The OP's suggestion, WITHOUT context, sounds ambiguous to me. Maybe nowadays it sounds perfectly acceptable in the US and in the UK, and speakers would not be confused, I simply don't know anymore. As I get older I see that life's little certainties diminish little by little.
- He borrowed me some money
Did the subject, "he", borrow money from the speaker? OR Did "he" lend money to the speaker?
Adding the parenthesis (from someone for) is wordy, confusing and plain bad style, in my humble opinion.
P.S. if the parenthesis was added for the sake of clarity it should go after the sentence, not in the middle.
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
The shortest way (I can come up with) for saying someone who has borrowed money from another person or entity in order to lend it to a third party would be the following
- He borrowed money to give me
The OP's sentence is, from a purely technical viewpoint, ungrammatical. Many native speakers would criticise (an English language teacher would mark it as being incorrect) and say that the past participle of the verb lend, i.e. lent should be used instead.
- He lent me some money
The OP's suggestion, WITHOUT context, sounds ambiguous to me. Maybe nowadays it sounds perfectly acceptable in the US and in the UK, and speakers would not be confused, I simply don't know anymore. As I get older I see that life's little certainties diminish little by little.
- He borrowed me some money
Did the subject, "he", borrow money from the speaker? OR Did "he" lend money to the speaker?
Adding the parenthesis (from someone for) is wordy, confusing and plain bad style, in my humble opinion.
P.S. if the parenthesis was added for the sake of clarity it should go after the sentence, not in the middle.
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
The shortest way (I can come up with) for saying someone who has borrowed money from another person or entity in order to lend it to a third party would be the following
- He borrowed money to give me
The OP's sentence is, from a purely technical viewpoint, ungrammatical. Many native speakers would criticise (an English language teacher would mark it as being incorrect) and say that the past participle of the verb lend, i.e. lent should be used instead.
- He lent me some money
The OP's suggestion, WITHOUT context, sounds ambiguous to me. Maybe nowadays it sounds perfectly acceptable in the US and in the UK, and speakers would not be confused, I simply don't know anymore. As I get older I see that life's little certainties diminish little by little.
- He borrowed me some money
Did the subject, "he", borrow money from the speaker? OR Did "he" lend money to the speaker?
Adding the parenthesis (from someone for) is wordy, confusing and plain bad style, in my humble opinion.
P.S. if the parenthesis was added for the sake of clarity it should go after the sentence, not in the middle.
The shortest way (I can come up with) for saying someone who has borrowed money from another person or entity in order to lend it to a third party would be the following
- He borrowed money to give me
The OP's sentence is, from a purely technical viewpoint, ungrammatical. Many native speakers would criticise (an English language teacher would mark it as being incorrect) and say that the past participle of the verb lend, i.e. lent should be used instead.
- He lent me some money
The OP's suggestion, WITHOUT context, sounds ambiguous to me. Maybe nowadays it sounds perfectly acceptable in the US and in the UK, and speakers would not be confused, I simply don't know anymore. As I get older I see that life's little certainties diminish little by little.
- He borrowed me some money
Did the subject, "he", borrow money from the speaker? OR Did "he" lend money to the speaker?
Adding the parenthesis (from someone for) is wordy, confusing and plain bad style, in my humble opinion.
P.S. if the parenthesis was added for the sake of clarity it should go after the sentence, not in the middle.
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
Mari-Lou AMari-Lou A
13.7k73976
13.7k73976
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
4
4
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
I added those parenthesis merely to convey the context ^^
– Zeeshan Ali
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
Just so they know why I rejected the edit: Someone wanted to change "Did the subject, "he", borrow…" to "borrows" but the verb is in the infinite because the sentence is in the interrogative form (Did).
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
I think it's gramatically OK, but I'd avoid using it.
I've heard it used colloquially (Black Country, UK), but it had/has a slightly different meaning to the one I think you mean. In that "He borrowed me some money" would mean the same as "He lent me some money" or "I borrowed some money from him".
Likewise "borrow me some money?" can be used to mean "Can I borrow some money?".
That use isn't widespread [from my experience], and definitely informal. I'm not sure it's used outside that area ... but it does exist, so I'd avoid using it because it could be interpreted as that (not knowing the right word, so using a similar word in place ... or intentionally using the 'wrong' word)
New contributor
add a comment |
I think it's gramatically OK, but I'd avoid using it.
I've heard it used colloquially (Black Country, UK), but it had/has a slightly different meaning to the one I think you mean. In that "He borrowed me some money" would mean the same as "He lent me some money" or "I borrowed some money from him".
Likewise "borrow me some money?" can be used to mean "Can I borrow some money?".
That use isn't widespread [from my experience], and definitely informal. I'm not sure it's used outside that area ... but it does exist, so I'd avoid using it because it could be interpreted as that (not knowing the right word, so using a similar word in place ... or intentionally using the 'wrong' word)
New contributor
add a comment |
I think it's gramatically OK, but I'd avoid using it.
I've heard it used colloquially (Black Country, UK), but it had/has a slightly different meaning to the one I think you mean. In that "He borrowed me some money" would mean the same as "He lent me some money" or "I borrowed some money from him".
Likewise "borrow me some money?" can be used to mean "Can I borrow some money?".
That use isn't widespread [from my experience], and definitely informal. I'm not sure it's used outside that area ... but it does exist, so I'd avoid using it because it could be interpreted as that (not knowing the right word, so using a similar word in place ... or intentionally using the 'wrong' word)
New contributor
I think it's gramatically OK, but I'd avoid using it.
I've heard it used colloquially (Black Country, UK), but it had/has a slightly different meaning to the one I think you mean. In that "He borrowed me some money" would mean the same as "He lent me some money" or "I borrowed some money from him".
Likewise "borrow me some money?" can be used to mean "Can I borrow some money?".
That use isn't widespread [from my experience], and definitely informal. I'm not sure it's used outside that area ... but it does exist, so I'd avoid using it because it could be interpreted as that (not knowing the right word, so using a similar word in place ... or intentionally using the 'wrong' word)
New contributor
edited 15 hours ago
New contributor
answered 18 hours ago
Algy TaylorAlgy Taylor
1193
1193
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f194522%2fhe-borrowed-me-some-money-right-or-wrong%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown