day 19: loan some cash; lend a hand?

by | Jan 21, 2011

It was so simple in my mind—banks loan money; friends lend a hand. Use loan for money and lend for everything else. Until I found out that, that is the British rules, not the US unwritten rules! Agggh….
US rules follow the loan is a noun and lend is a verb. Stuffy grammarians would not approve of my “loan money; lend a hand” philosophy.
So…if you are not concerned about impressing the grammarians of the world (especially US ones):
  1. Always loan money (or never do if you want to keep friends and family!)
  2. Always lend a hand…and anything else someone wants to borrow (but do not expect to get it back!)
If you are a stickler for US vs British grammar rules, and you are in the US:
  1. lOAn is a nOUn (two vowels each)
  2. lEnd is a vErb (one noun; e)
Regardless, always remember to lend a hand to those in need! Smile…

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