# "Loan" is not a verb, dammit! "Loan" is a noun! "Lend" is a verb! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244 "2007-09-24T00:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/41 "2007-09-24T15:43:15Z")
It’s far worse when I hear someone say “I borrowed that to him” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/42 "2007-09-24T15:44:12Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Nathan Hale was hung. And I say that without any double entendric reference to his manhood. [/QUOTE] No, he was [hanged](http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/hang?view=uk), honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/43 "2007-09-24T15:58:31Z")
Yep. They drugged poor Nathan Hale up to the gallows and hunged him. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/44 "2007-09-24T16:26:19Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] No, he was [hanged](http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/hang?view=uk), honestly. [/QUOTE] Well, dang me. I’ve been adverbly nouned! Still fair to say Jesus was hung, though. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/45 "2007-09-24T16:28:22Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Still fair to say Jesus was hung, though. [/QUOTE] Mary Magdalene? Is that you? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/46 "2007-09-24T16:55:51Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Another usage that bugs me: “Hung,” as in, “Nathan Hale was hung.” No, sir. John Holmes was hung. Nathan Hale was hanged. [/QUOTE] [Blazing Saddles] “Bart Bart! They told us you was hung!” “And they was right.” [/Blazing Saddles] ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/47 "2007-09-24T17:06:27Z")
If it’s good enough for Chuck Yeager, it’s good enough for me. > [@](#): > > Chuck Yeager: Hey, Ridley, ya got any Beeman’s? > Jack Ridley: Yeah, I think I got me a stick. > Chuck Yeager: Loan me some, will ya? I’ll pay ya back later. > Jack Ridley: Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/48 "2007-09-24T17:14:15Z")
[QUOTE=BubbaDog] [Somebody Loan me a dime,](http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Lyrics&file=index&req=showcontent&id=134) I need to call my old time, used to be. Am the only one with this tune in my head as I read this thread? [/QUOTE] Exactly what I came in to add. Duane Allman at his best (plus a pre-Dead Donna Jean Godchaux on backup vocals). ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/49 "2007-09-24T17:25:07Z")
Hmm…anyone ever used \*\*I’d’ve \*\* before? I do in very informal writings, but I wonder if it’s being used elswhere. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/50 "2007-09-24T18:25:54Z")
[QUOTE=LunaV] Hmm…anyone ever used \*\*I’d’ve \*\* before? I do in very informal writings, but I wonder if it’s being used elswhere. [/QUOTE] I do. Sometimes I like my writing to be exactly representative of the way I speak, and I definitely say that. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/51 "2007-09-24T18:46:14Z")
[QUOTE=LunaV] Hmm…anyone ever used \*\*I’d’ve \*\* before? I do in very informal writings, but I wonder if it’s being used elswhere. [/QUOTE] That’s fer them ivory college stuck-up gradjit folk. I use I’da like a real person! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/52 "2007-09-24T19:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I do. Sometimes I like my writing to be exactly representative of the way I speak, and I definitely say that. [/QUOTE] Me too, after I saw it in a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon I use the word ‘dunno’ in informal writing. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/53 "2007-09-24T19:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=cricetus] Here in Minnesota people say “could you borrow me that pencil.” Proper verb or not, I’d consider “loan” a huge improvement. [/QUOTE] This is true. Drives me fucking NUTS. “Jim borrowed me his laptop for the weekend.” “I can borrow you the DVD but I need it back by Thursday.” GAHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/54 "2007-09-25T02:03:13Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Usually I’m inclined the other way. I rarely object to the verbing of nouns. But in this case, where there’s already a perfectly useful Anglo-Saxon monosyllabic verb, the verbing of the analogous noun strikes me as sloppiness. [/QUOTE] I know. I can’t understand why peple must insist on terms like fuckwad when there are perfectly acceptable terms like dipshit already on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/55 "2007-09-25T03:29:57Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] No. Drives me nuts. [/QUOTE] A pirate walks into a bar with a ship’s steering wheel sticking from the fly of his pants… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/56 "2007-09-25T03:59:37Z")
> [@](#): > > [Bart returns unexpectedly after being sentenced to death] > Charlie: They said you was hung. > Bart: And they was right! [QUOTE=Bosstone] I use I’da like a real person! [/QUOTE] I hear the sailors use her like a semi-person at best. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/57 "2007-09-25T04:45:59Z")
I no longer get excited about this. loan is becoming a verb. Nothing we can do to stop it. Just lay (or lie) back and think of England. How about the verb “to raise?” The noun is “rise.” So why do Americans talk about getting a 'Pay raise" rather than a “pay rise?” Because trying to nail the function of words in English is like trying to nail jello to a tree. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/58 "2007-09-25T06:11:40Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I no longer get excited about this. loan is becoming a verb. Nothing we can do to stop it. Just lay (or lie) back and think of England. How about the verb “to raise?” The noun is “rise.” So why do Americans talk about getting a 'Pay raise" rather than a “pay rise?” [/QUOTE] Because “raise” is a noun, too? And “raising” and “rising” are two different words conveying similar, but distinct, actions? “Rise” is the noun form of the verb “to rise.” “Raise” is the noun form of the verb “to raise.” “Pay rise” has always sounded odd to my (American) ears. You raise somebody’s salary, not rise it, therefore, you get a salary raise. At least, that’s how I’ve always heard it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/59 "2007-09-25T08:37:09Z")
I thought the verb was “borrie”, as in “Can y’ borrie me a dollar?” Maybe I’ve spent too much time in the mountains. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/60 "2007-09-25T08:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I no longer get excited about this. loan is becoming a verb. [/quote] If you’ve read the thread, you know that “loan” has _always_ been a verb. -FrL- [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244.md?page=4)