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As an avid viewer of Judge Judy I get to see a lot of different types of people, folks from all walks of life and all along the spectrum of education and literacy...or the lack thereof. It's not a huge secret that the majority of litigants, and their families/witnesses who accompany them, are neither highly intelligent nor highly educated. Oh, sure, a lot of them know some impressive big words, such as "altercation" and "incarcerated." *rolling my eyes right now* But when it comes to basic language skills, let's just say they tend to be very lacking.
One of the most commonly heard phrases uttered by litigants on Judge Judy is: "I borrowed him some money..." And, yes, my eyes roll every time I hear that! Judge Sheindlin usually corrects them, saying: "You LOANED him some money!" But that's usually accompanied by a whooshing sound as the correction goes right over their heads.
So when it comes to borrow and loan, when do you use which? That's easy!:
(Assume the money has to be repaid)
If you're the one GIVING the money to the other person, you're loaning the money to them.
If you're the one RECEIVING the money from the other person, you're borrowing the money from them.
Still not sure which word is correct? Please post a comment below, or contact us on Twitter.
I've known for many years that I have A LOT of pet peeves, some of which I keep to myself, while others I tend to talk about. So I got to thinking, "why not start a blog to showcase some of my pet peeves?!" Hence this blog was created and off we go. Comments, including pet peeves of your own, are welcome. Have at it!
Showing posts with label loan vs borrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loan vs borrow. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Misuse of "borrowed" for "loaned"
Labels: pet peeves, spelling, grammar,
borrow,
commonly misused words,
illiteracy,
incorrect grammar,
loan,
loan vs borrow,
loaned vs borrowed,
misused words
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