"Lend" is to loan at no charge; "rent" is to give or take in exchange for payment.
To give something temporarily to someone at no charge. Always free between lender and borrower.
Can you lend me your pen for a second? I need to sign this.
¿Puedes prestarme tu boligrafo un momento? Necesito firmar esto.
I lent him my car for the weekend. I hope he is careful.
Le preste mi carro el fin de semana. Espero que tenga cuidado.
She is always lending her clothes to her friends.
Ella siempre esta prestando su ropa a sus amigas.
To pay for temporary use of something, or to charge someone for temporary use of something you own.
They rent an apartment in the city center for $1,200 a month.
Ellos alquilan un apartamento en el centro de la ciudad por $1,200 al mes.
I rented a car for the week because mine is being repaired.
Alquile un carro por una semana porque el mio esta en el taller.
Do you rent this place or do you own it?
¿Alquilas este lugar o es tuyo?
Common mistake
Saying "I lent a car from the agency" when you mean you paid to use it. "Lend" is always free. For commercial transactions with payment, the word is "rent" (or "hire" in British English for short-term things). "The agency rented me a car" or "I rented a car from the agency" are correct.
Trick to remember it
The magic question: is money involved? If yes, it is "rent". If no payment — a friend loans something — it is "lend/borrow". Confirm: "Can I borrow your umbrella?" = no payment. "I need to rent an umbrella" = there is a paid umbrella service (they exist in some airports).
Quick rule
Lend = loan for free (no payment). Rent = use or allow use in exchange for payment.
Did you know?
"Airbnb" uses "rent" implicitly: when you book a place on Airbnb you are "renting" a space. The name comes from "air mattress B&B" (air bed and breakfast). And "Rent" is also a famous Broadway musical (1996) about young artists struggling to pay rent in New York. Its most famous lyric: "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes" — the number of minutes in a year.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Could you _____ me your laptop for an hour? Mine is at the repair shop.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
We _____ a vacation house by the beach for two weeks last summer.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Lend = loan for free (no payment). Rent = use or allow use in exchange for payment.
Saying "I lent a car from the agency" when you mean you paid to use it. "Lend" is always free. For commercial transactions with payment, the word is "rent" (or "hire" in British English for short-term things). "The agency rented me a car" or "I rented a car from the agency" are correct.
The magic question: is money involved? If yes, it is "rent". If no payment — a friend loans something — it is "lend/borrow". Confirm: "Can I borrow your umbrella?" = no payment. "I need to rent an umbrella" = there is a paid umbrella service (they exist in some airports).
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy