Is it grammatically correct, "to loan," or, "to lend," or both or neither?

Question

People use, "loan," as a verb, meaning, "lend." In past tense, one hears, "loaned," instead of, "lent." Whether loaning or lending, the meaning is the same.

Answer 1

I prefer to use "lend" for the veb (and my wife *insists* on it ) BUT, in fact, BOTH are perfectly proper. And the notion that using "loan" as a verb is a more recent 'corruption' is totally mistaken -- both forms have been used as verbs for many centuries.


See the following:
"“Loan me your hat” was just as correct everywhere as “lend me your ears” until the British made “lend” the preferred verb, relegating “loan” to the thing being lent. However, as in so many cases, Americans kept the older pattern, which in its turn has influenced modern British usage so that those insisting that “loan” can only be a noun are in the minority."
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html#lend

I share the sentiment of the following blog entry:
"There's not much reason for the anxiety — loan has been a verb since around the year 1200, and I think an eight-hundred-year probation is long enough for anyone — but it's now little used in Britain. It thrives, though, in America. My advice: don't be bothered by loan as a verb but, if you want to avoid irritating those who have this hangup, it's never wrong to use lend"
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/l.html

Answer 2

loan ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ln)
n.
Something lent for temporary use.
A sum of money lent at interest.
An act of lending; a grant for temporary use: asked for the loan of a garden hose.
A temporary transfer to a duty or place away from a regular job: an efficiency expert on loan from the main office.
lend ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lnd)

v. lent, (lnt) lend·ing, lends
v. tr.
To give or allow the use of temporarily on the condition that the same or its equivalent will be returned.
To provide (money) temporarily on condition that the amount borrowed be returned, usually with an interest fee.

Looks like lent is acceptable. m

Answer 3

These days, all expressions are used & understood. No usage is winced at so long as ii makes a meaning appropriate to the situation.

We walk our children to school.. We don't wish to be nose-led. It is all do-or-die for the soldiers. Hand him this letter.etc etc.

'To lend' is the most correct expression. 'To loan '. 'loaning', 'loaned', 'lonable' etc etc are used though not Grammar-book correct. But we've every liberty to use them in informal situations.

Similar expresion is 'afraid' for 'feeling the fear' . These days, we say, I feared of the consequences.' 'Feared' has come into common use.

So whenever one is presnting papers, writing examinations, one needs to be careful to use the grammatically approved ones.

Outside this, we can have full freedom. ( If I say 'Condomless' freedom', it'd be more expressive & metaphorically exciting!

In speech, no need to use grammatically correct words & expressions. We can have the liberty of a poet.

But in formal situations, it's better to use the grammatically accepted ones.

Got it?

All said & Done, we can say, Lernd Your ears' to 'listen to me' & not 'LOAN YOUR EARS!'
'Lend' & Loan' don't make the same meaning. LEND has more meanings than loan.

Answer 4

To sum up, I explain below :
LEND :
(1) verb - You may lend something (not money) to someone. Example - Liza was reading a book that I lent her.
(2) verb - Banks may lend you money. Example - Large banks came forward to lend to the big businesses at much lower rates. Synonym - loan
(3) verb - You may lend support to someone or something. Example - Hawkings's theory lent support to Einstein's assumption.
(4) verb - Something may lend a particular quality to something. Example - Tradtion lends order to the world.

LOAN :
(1) noun - A loan is a sum of money that you borrow. Example - India had to make a further loan of $150 million to save its wildlife.
verb - You may loan money to someone. Example - Liza loaned me fifty dollars.
(2) noun - Someone may give you a loan of something. Example - Could I have the loan of your lawnmower for a day?
verb - You may loan something to someone. Example - Liza never loaned her lawnmower to anybody.

Answer 5

Generally if you loan to someone it would be an article. If you lend it would be money. However if you do lend then it's called a 'Loan'.

Answer 6

lend is formal
loan is informal
both correct for use
depends on how your teacher looks at it

Answer 7

i think its to lend because you havent done it yet. loan is present tense... lend is feature i think.

Answer 8

I'm pretty sure both are correct.