Newbie - Can I borrow money?

Hola amigos,

Here's the question of the day: 

• ¿Sueles prestarle dinero a tus amigos?  ¿Te lo devuelven?  (Do you loan money to your friends often?  Do they pay you back?)

A veces les presto dinero a mis amigos, si lo tengo en el bosillo. (Sometimes I loan money to my friends, if I have it in my pocket)

Le presté dinero a Liliana el mes pasado, pero todavía no me ha devolvido...

(I lent money to Liliana last month, but she still hasn't paid me back...)

John -- hombre, ¡Liliana no va a devolvérselo a menos que se lo pidas! ¿No escuchaste lo que ella nos dijo en el podcast?

(John -- dude -- Liliana's not going to pay you back unless you ask her to.  Didn't you hear what she told us in the podcast?)

John

Mañana te pago, lo prometo jaja.

(Tomorrow I´ll pay you, I promise you! LOL)

Leo me ha prestado dinero hoy mismo para poder pagar la comida, gracias Leo! Es que se me ha olvidado la cartera en casa...ups.

si nosotros son mejor amigos, nunca pretar dinero el uno al otro

Les he prestado dinero a mis amigos pero lo trato de evitar...  puede crear problemas y tensiones entre los dos

Les presto dinero a mis amigos si el ATM en nuestro eficicio no funciona.  Afortunadamente hay un ATM en nuestro edificio, y cuando lo funciona, me lo devuelven muy rápido.  Siempre lo hacemos.

Generalmente no presto. Algunas veces no pagan, y es aburido tener que cobrar de los amigos.

jodibean, ATM en español se dice cajero automático.

Esti - Gracias de nuevo.  So would it be referred to by a native Spanish speaker as cajero automático, or is it chopped down to "CA" like Americans chopped "Automatic Teller Machine" down to ATM?

Jodibean

Por lo general decimos cajero o bien cajero automático.

Querido JP,

Es interesante que aunque haya dos palabras para decir borrow y lend en el inglés normal o estándar, a veces se puede oír una sola palabra, borrow, para significar ambas cosas -- por ejemplo:  I borrowed him some money.  No sé, quizás se trate de una expresión regional del mediooeste...

It's interesting that although there are two words to say borrow and lend in standard English, sometimes you hear just one word, borrow, to mean both things -- for example:  I borrowed him some money.  I don't know, maybe it's a question of a regional expression heard in the midwest...

(A propósito, ¿me podrías corregir el español? Gracias :-)

Anna8

Quizas sea un expresion del medioeste.  Vivo en la costa este.  Nunca he ido "I borrowed him some money.".

Perhaps it is an expression from the midwest.  I live on the east coast.  I have never heard "I borrowed him some money.".

anna8

Here in the uk, if someone asked me to borrow them some money it would seriously mess with my head, (and not just because I'm closer than a dead heat). I'm just as uncomfortable with "can you itch my back for me" or "can you learn me some spanish."  :-)

Its certainly interesting that these forms exist in english. Is it just liguistic "evolution"or a hold over from "middle english" which has survived in the new world. certainly back in 1600 they had both forms

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

So the pilgrim fathers knew of, and presumably would have disapproved of both words

I was going to say that the shakespeare would lose something in the translation but a little digging has revealed a difference

Un prestatario borrows and un prestamista lends,
well, ok they both prestar in one way or another but you see what i mean :-)

There had to be a distinction somewhere or the world banking system would come crashing down.

 (cue fx)

Ay, Donperigo y Steve, You guys really do bring out my inner geek!

So according to the appendix of Indo-European roots in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed), the word borrow derives from the Indo-European root: bhergh, to hide, protect.

It appears in Old English as  borgian, to borrow, from Germanic borgen, to pledge, lend, borrow.

According to a modern German dictionary online, there is a word, ausleihen, that means lend and borrow -- different root, but similar semantic extension.

On the other hand, the modern word borgen seems to mean borrow as in the saying:  Borgen macht Sorgen (Borrowing makes for problems, or neither a borrower nor a lender be).

Anyway, it's interesting that the simplest Anglosaxon words often have the most fascinating history -- not that there's anything wrong with a little romance .... language that is :-)

Anna8

Very interesting thank you

Newbies (who are new to the verb prestar)

When I first came a cross the verb prestar, I found it hard to work with since in English we have two words, borrow and lend.  I would like to give some expressions that may help anyone just leaning this word, and if anyone see that I have any errors, I would appreciate their input.  

You can use the word prestar when we would use to lend.  -  Voy a prestar $20 a Juan.  I am going to lend John $20. 

It is a little more tricky if you want to borrow.  First let me note that prestado means lent as in the money is lent. 

 If I were to ask someone if I can borrow $20 I would use the verb pedir (to ask for).  I would say ¿Puedo pedir prestado $20? - Could I ask for $20 lent?  

If I were to say that I am going to borrow $20, I would use the verb tomar (to take).  I would say voy a tomar prestado $20 - I am going to take lent $20.

 Finally if I owe John $20, I would use the verb deber (to be obligated or to owe)  I would say le debo $20 a Juan - I owe $20 to John.   When buying something in a store, you can say to the cashier Cuanto le debo - how much to I owe you.

Steve

anna8, algunas pequeñas correcciones, casi ninguna, sigue así campeona.

Es interesante que aunque haya dos palabras para decir borrow y lend en inglés estándar, a veces se puede oír una sola palabra, borrow, para DECIR ambas cosas -- por ejemplo:  I borrowed him some money.  No sé, quizás se trate de una expresión regional del medio oeste...

stevestrv, gracias por la explecación para nuestros users, una pequeña corrección, prestado deberá ser plural porque son 20 dólares (que también es plural), ok? Y una vez más, gracias.

Voy a prestarLE $20 a Juan.  I am going to lend John $20. 

¿Puedo pedirTE prestadoS $20? - Could I ask for $20 lent?  

Voy a tomar prestadoS $20 - I am going to take lent $20.

 Le debo $20 a Juan - I owe $20 to John.  

¿Cuánto le debo? - how much to I owe you? or you can also say ¿Qué le debo?

Esti

Hola tia gracias por las correcciónes.

¡Otra vez, te agradezco mucho Esti!

Hi everyone,

this is a great dissucssion on English "to lend/to borrow."  I know that linguists have a word for this semantic phenomenon, where the meaning of a verb extends to it's reciprocal.  I wish I could remember what it was called....

I do know that there are a lot of kids these days for whom "to itch" and "to scratch" are the same verb; they ask if you "scratch and itch" or "itch a scratch."

JP

yeah i couldnt think of it either so i settled on

really annoying :-)

JP Donperigo

I think the word that you are looking for is contronym.  See the link below.

http://linguisticszone.blogspot.com/2007/10/there-exist-many-words-whose-meanings.html

cheers steve

it could be, or it could just mean the same thing :-)

I don´t hear the word ´hay´in the last sentence.

catianew,

in Spanish, when one word ends in a vowel sound, and the next word begins in a vowel sound, the two vowels cram themselves into one syllable. 

So the words "no" and "hay" are pronounced all in one syllable:  [nway]

This is often hard for native English speakers to hear because the syllable [nway] is impossible in English phonology, so they're not expecting it.

Remember, the /h/ is silent in Spanish; also Spanish speakers don't like to separate their words with *glottal stops, the way English speakers like to.  You'll probably never hear a two-syllable [no-'ay] in the wild.

*(a glottal stop is the sound that separates the two syllables in the word "uh-oh.")

Gracias a Liliana para contestas mi pregunta sobre cajero automático...o simplemente "cajero".  

Voy a las vacaciones a Orlando y St. Augustine Florida en el mes próximo.  Estaré muy interesante, porque intentaré a usar algunos de que he aprendido.  ¡Espero que no me hago aparecer como una tonta!

JP, $500 debe mucho pedir en general.

El dinero de préstamos a otros no está dentro de la cultura americana (mi experiencia personal). ¡Buena lección!

corrections to PDF

Unable to hear listening exercises.

gracias para stevestir

pienso es el bueno camino a aprender el español y usar que principiante

además me gusto este programa

no voy a prestar dinero a mi amigos porque tengo no dinero jaja