Language Spanish · third language of borrow · no ordinary simple verb · the Borrower is the subject of pedir or of tomar · the Theme is the direct object · prestado agrees with the Theme · the Source of pedir prestado is a + a noun, or the dative clitic le / les, the same dative slot as the Recipient of prestar · the Source of tomar prestado is de + a noun · a word taken from a language stays on this page. The first language is borrow · leihen. The second is borrow · emprunter. No English page.
Arguments
Borrower, Theme, Source · two periphrases · the dative of pedir is the person asked · Duration unranked · Spanish cloth · working claim, revisable
Voice[Borrower] + Themedirect object + prestadoagrees with the Theme + Source
pedir prestado · Source = a+NP / dative le·les · the same slot as the Recipient of prestar · the lender is the person the request is addressed to
tomar prestado · Source = de+NP · also a word: a language in de · not the dative of pedir
A borrowing, on this reading, has a Borrower, a Theme, and a Source. Voice adds the Borrower as the subject of pedir or of tomar. The root’s object is the Theme, a direct object. The participle prestado agrees with that Theme. It is not the participle of haber. The DLE’s compound of prestar is he prestado, and that form does not show gender or number agreement. The DLE’s compound of pedir is he pedido. A time expression may name how long, or a return date. It is not ranked as an argument or as an adjunct. The DLE’s definition of prestar says the thing is handed over for some time and then given back. That wording is the definition’s. It is not an endpoint claim.
What is different from English borrow X from Y, from prestar, and from French and German. English uses one simple verb, borrow, and the source is from. Spanish does not have one ordinary simple verb for that direction. The ordinary expressions are periphrases. On pedir prestado the lender is not in a separative preposition. The lender is a plus a noun, or the dative clitic le / les. That is the dative of pedir: the person who is asked. It is the same dative slot as the Recipient of prestar. The person who lends is encoded as the recipient of the request. The verb and the participle, not the dative, say that the thing is being asked for as a loan. On tomar prestado the Source is de plus a noun, which is closer to English from. Prestar itself is the lend verb: the subject hands the thing over, and a / le is the Recipient. French emprunter is one ordinary simple verb, and its Source is à, the same preposition as the Recipient of prêter. German (sich) leihen / ausleihen is one ordinary lemma: a reflexive dative selects borrow, and the source is von or bei. Spanish does not put a reflexive on pedir or tomar to choose the direction. The DLE’s simple verb emprestar is marked p. us. and is glossed both ways. It is not the ordinary lemma, and it is not a page. Which phrase is the structural object is the note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Places · who wears which marking
No printed line in the entries opened stacks the Borrower, the Theme, the Source, and a time expression on pedir prestado or on tomar prestado. The DLE prints the string Pedir prestado as the first sense of emprestar, with no person and no thing filled. The DLE’s definition of pedir names the person as a alguien and the thing as algo. The DPD prints Le pedí and me pidió on pedir, not on the loan participle. The DPD prints me prestó sus botas on prestar, where me is the person who receives the boots.
Printed request frame · the person is a alguien or a dative clitic · the thing is the direct object
✓ Expresar a alguien la necesidad o el deseo de algo para que lo satisfaga.DLE · pedir sense 1 · a alguien is the person · algo is the thing · no prestado in this sentence
✓ Le pedí que se casara conmigo.me pidió dormir conmigo.DPD · pedir · dative le and me · the direct object is not introduced by de · these lines are not the loan
✓ Pedir prestado.DLE · emprestar sense 1 · p. us. · the string is the gloss · no person and no thing are filled
the person asked, when the periphrasis names one, sits in that dative · English from is not this slot
Printed lend frame · the same dative is the Recipient · the subject hands the thing over
✓ Entregar algo a alguien para que lo utilice durante algún tiempo y después lo restituya o devuelva.DLE · prestar sense 1 · a alguien is the goal of the handing over · the return wording is the definition’s
✓ me prestó sus botas para que salieraDPD · prestar · me receives the boots · the subject is the one who hands them over
English lend me the boots · the borrow periphrasis uses this dative for the person who is asked, not for a second direct object
Regional prestar · borrow · a de-phrase · not the working frame
✓ In general Spanish the subject of prestar is the person who hands the thing over, not the person who receives it. In some areas of America, including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and certain areas of Colombia, prestar is also used in the sense of pedir prestado, often with a complement in de that says from whom it is taken. The DPD recommends avoiding that use because of the ambiguities it can generate. prestando de parientes un sillón estrafalarioDPD · prestar · the de-phrase is the source of that regional use · the recommendation is the DPD’s
✓ In Bolivia the same sense is pronominal. se preste una · prestarme la máquina fotográficaDPD · pronominal prestarse · not the reflexive that selects German leihen
this is not the ordinary periphrasis · it is not starred · the DPD records it and recommends avoiding it
Arguments of Spanish borrow: role, marking, obligatoriness
Role
Marking
Obligatoriness
What the sources print
Borrower
subject of pedir or of tomar
the periphrasis has a subject · not the subject of prestar
DLE pedir is transitive · the subject of the loan string is unprinted in Pedir prestado · the DPD’s subject of prestar is the lender, not this Borrower
Theme
direct object · prestado / prestada / prestados / prestadas agrees with it
the thing is the object of transitive pedir when it is named · the bare gloss has no thing
DLE pedir sense 1: algo · DLE emprestar prints Pedir prestado with nothing filled · the citation participle on the DLE prestar table is prestado · he prestado does not agree · a feminine or plural Theme in a full clause is constructed
Source of pedir prestado
a+NP, or dative le / les
not in the gloss Pedir prestado · when the person is named, this is the marking · not a second bare object
DLE pedir: a alguien · DPD: Le pedí, me pidió, and the direct object is not introduced by de · those clitics are not in a loan line · les is the plural of le and is unprinted on the lines read · the same dative is the Recipient of prestar
Source of tomar prestado
de+NP
not obligatory on a clause that does not name a source · the working marking when the source is named
a filled tomar prestado clause is unprinted in the DLE and DPD entries opened · the DPD’s printed de is on regional prestar: de quién se toma prestado, de parientes · that de is not filed as the Source of pedir
Lender as a bare noun beside the Theme
not a printed frame
not a second object
the printed person of pedir is inside a or is a dative clitic · a bare pedir prestado Pat el libro is unprinted
Recipient of prestar
a+NP, or dative le / me
the other verb · the subject is the lender
DLE: a alguien · DPD: me prestó sus botas · the DPD states that in general Spanish the subject is the person who hands the thing over · see lend · prestar
Duration / return date
por una semana · hasta el lunes
not obligatory · adjunct-like when it is written · not a co-argument in the formula
unprinted on the loan lines read · DLE prestar has durante algún tiempo inside the definition · that phrase is not por and not hasta
Loanword
Theme = the word · Source = de + language, on tomar
another use of the de frame · not a second page
DLE préstamo sense 4, linguistic: an element, generally lexical, that a language takes from another · the noun is not the periphrasis · tomar prestada una palabra del inglés is constructed
emprestar
a simple verb · both directions in the DLE
not the ordinary lemma · not a page
DLE sense 1, p. us.: Pedir prestado · sense 2, p. us.: prestar · DPD: the variant is now restricted to popular and rural speech, and its use in formal registers is to be avoided
Marking map. Read the verb first. On pedir prestado the subject asks, and a / le is the person asked, who is the lender. On prestar the subject hands the thing over, and a / le is the person who receives it. The dative does not say which way the thing goes. On tomar prestado the subject takes, and de is the Source. English from matches that de, not the dative of pedir.
There is no ordinary simple verb. French emprunter is one. German leihen and ausleihen are one lemma, and sich selects borrow. The DLE’s emprestar is a simple verb and is marked little used. Sense 1 is Pedir prestado. Sense 2 points at prestar. The DPD says that variant, normal in medieval and classical Spanish, is now restricted to popular and rural speech. It is not opened as the ordinary borrow verb.
The lender of pedir wears the Recipient’s dative. DLE pedir sense 1 addresses a alguien. DLE prestar sense 1 delivers a alguien. The DPD’s me prestó sus botas is that Recipient. The DPD’s Le pedí is that same clitic series on pedir. Putting the loan participle on pedir does not give the person a new preposition. The person stays the one who is asked.
de is not the object of pedir. The DPD says the direct object of pedir, in the sense of asking, is never introduced by de. The Source of tomar prestado is a different phrase: de plus a noun, beside the Theme, not instead of it. The DPD’s printed de of a person is the regional borrow use of prestar, prestando de parientes, which that entry tells the reader to avoid.
Agreement is with the Theme. The working form is prestado with a masculine singular Theme, prestada with a feminine singular Theme, and the plurals with a plural Theme. The DLE table prints prestado and he prestado. It does not print prestada in a pedir or tomar clause. Those clauses below are constructed. The agreement is not the compound tense of prestar.
A word is the same tomar frame, with a language in de. DLE préstamo sense 4 is the noun: an element, generally lexical, that a language takes from another. The definition’s verb is toma, and the source is de otra. The periphrasis tomar prestada una palabra del inglés is not that sentence. It is constructed on this page. It is not a returnable coat.
A time phrase stays off the formula.por una semana and hasta el lunes are the sort of phrase that is frequent beside a loan and is not printed in the entries opened. They are not obligatory. They are not given a seat as a fourth argument. The DLE’s durante algún tiempo stays inside the definition of prestar.
EN ⇄ ES valency strip
Each row lines up one English slot with a Spanish slot, and names the French or German slot where the direction split differs. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (Spanish a or le where English has from, or a periphrasis where English has one verb). Printed lines come first. Every other Spanish sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.
English–Spanish valency alignment for borrow, one row per argument
Slot
EN form
ES form
Align
EN example
ES example
Borrower
SUBJ of borrow
subject of pedir or tomar
shift · no ordinary simple verb · the subject still asks or takes
to borrow something English gloss
Pedir prestadoDLE · emprestar
Theme
OBJ
direct object · participle agrees
= for the object · agreement is extra
borrow a book gloss
el libro · prestadoconstructed · citation prestado is the DLE participle
Source of pedir
from
a+NP or dative le / les
shift · same slot as the Recipient of prestar · the lender is the addressee of the request
borrow from her gloss
a alguienDLE · pedir · Le pedíDPD · not the loan line
Source of tomar
from
de+NP
= oblique · a separative preposition · unprinted as a filled tomar clause in the entries opened
borrow a book from Pat gloss
toma prestado el libro de Patconstructed
Recipient of prestar
to of lend · a different verb
the same a or dative clitic
shift of role on pedir · on prestar the role matches English lend
lend me the boots gloss of the DPD line
me prestó sus botasDPD
French emprunter
one simple verb · from
one simple verb · Source à
French has the simple verb Spanish does not use as the ordinary lemma
ES constructed · a alguien is DLE pedir · le is the DPD clitic of pedir · the loan participle is not in those lines · EN gloss uses from
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower the subject of pedirSource from Pat · le … a PatTheme the book · prestado el libro
MoveEnglish from · Spanish dative · the same dative is a Recipient on prestar
EN · ES · tomar · de
de+NP
borrow the book from Pat
toma prestado el libro de Pat
ES constructed · de is the working Source of tomar · the DPD’s printed de is regional prestar, not this clause
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower the subject of tomarSource from Pat · de PatTheme the book · prestado el libro
Movede matches English from · it is not the dative of pedir
ES · same dative, other verb
prestar
lend me the boots
me prestó sus botas
ES · DPD · me is the Recipient · the subject hands the boots over · see lend · prestar
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientTheme
Lender subject of prestarRecipient me · meTheme the boots · sus botas
Movethe dative does not flip · the lemma does · pedir keeps the dative and changes the verb
FR · DE · ordinary simple verbs
emprunter · leihen
borrow something from someone
emprunter qqch à qqn · sich etwas leihen
FR · emprunter · DE · leihen · one ordinary verb each · Spanish uses the periphrasis
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower subject · German also sichSource à · von / beiTheme direct object · accusative
Movethose languages keep a simple verb · Spanish does not, as the ordinary expression
Examples
Argument difference against the lend page, against English from, and against French and German.Lend · prestar files the subject as the Lender and the dative as the Recipient. This page files the subject of pedir or of tomar as the Borrower. On pedir prestado the dative is still that person-slot, and the person in it is the lender, because the lender is who is asked. English Chris borrowed the book from Pat uses from. Tomar prestado can use de. Pedir prestado does not. French can print the source as à on the simple verb emprunter. German can print borrow as sich leihen, with the source in another preposition. Dropping nothing inside prestar turns it into borrow. The ordinary borrow expression is already a different verb plus prestado.
Dictionary frames and lines · checked · quoted as printed
Pedir prestado.prestar (‖ entregar algo a alguien para que lo devuelva).DLE · emprestar · both senses p. us. · dle.rae.es/emprestar
Expresar a alguien la necesidad o el deseo de algo para que lo satisfaga.DLE · pedir sense 1 · present pido · preterite pedí · dle.rae.es/pedir
Entregar algo a alguien para que lo utilice durante algún tiempo y después lo restituya o devuelva. Participle prestado. Compound he prestado. DLE · prestar sense 1 · dle.rae.es/prestar
me prestó sus botas para que saliera. The subject, in general Spanish, is the person who hands the thing over. Regional borrow uses, with de, and Bolivian pronominal prestarse, are the same article. DPD · prestar · rae.es/dpd/prestar
Le pedí que se casara conmigo. The direct object is not introduced by de. DPD · pedir · rae.es/dpd/pedir
Elemento, generalmente léxico, que una lengua toma de otra.DLE · préstamo sense 4 · the noun · dle.rae.es/préstamo
Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Chris and Pat continue the named-participant series on prestar. A name does not spell a preposition. a Pat follows the DLE’s a alguien. le follows the DPD’s Le. les is the plural of that clitic and is not in the lines read. de Pat is the working Source of tomar. The DPD’s de parientes is the regional prestar line, not this string.
✓Chris le pide prestado el libro a Pat.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource le … a PatTheme prestado el libro
constructed · a modelled on DLE a alguien · le modelled on DPD Le pedí · the two are stacked here · the printed lines do not stack them · prestado agrees with el libro
✓Chris le pide prestada la bici.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource leTheme prestada la bici
constructed · feminine Theme · prestada is not a DLE loan line · no a-phrase in this clause, because the DPD’s Le pedí has the clitic alone
✓Chris les pide prestados los libros.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource lesTheme prestados los libros
constructed · les is the plural of the printed le · unprinted on the lines read · not a second role
✓Chris toma prestado el libro de Pat.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource de PatTheme prestado el libro
constructed · Source de+NP · not the dative of pedir · the DPD line with de parientes is regional prestar
✓Chris toma prestada una palabra del inglés.
RolesHide rolesThemeSource
Theme prestada una palabraSource del inglés
constructed · loanword · feminine agreement · DLE préstamo sense 4 prints toma de otra on the noun, not this clause · the word is not given back as a coat
✓Chris le pide prestado el libro a Pat por una semana.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource le … a PatTheme el libro
constructed · por una semana is a time phrase · adjunct-like · not obligatory · not in the formula · hasta el lunes would be the same kind of phrase and is not added here as a second argument
✓Pat le presta el libro a Chris.
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientTheme
Lender PatRecipient le … a ChrisTheme el libro
constructed · the lend frame · modelled on DPD me prestó sus botas and DLE a alguien · not a borrow line · the lend page is prestar
*Chris pide prestado Pat el libro.
constructed · not a dictionary line · the printed person of pedir is a or a dative clitic · a bare second object is unprinted
Derivations · working sketches, revisable
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Borrower to Voice and the Theme to the root. On pedir the Source stays in the dative, the person asked. On tomar the Source stays in de. The lend drawing on the lend page gives that same dative to the Recipient and names the subject the Lender, on prestar. Open one sketch at a time.
Voice · pedir prestado · the dative is the person asked
One external argument · the other person is not co-indexed with it
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Borrower = Spec,Voice
[VP le ← dative · the person asked
[√pedir-
[Theme prestado el libro ]
[PP a Pat ]]]] ← same person · not a Recipient of the book
✓ Expresar a alguien … algo.DLE · pedir
The subject asks once. The dative is who is asked. English borrow puts that person in from. On this periphrasis the person stays in the dative that prestar uses for a Recipient. prestado is in the Theme, and it agrees with el libro. The clitic and the a-phrase in one clause are drawn together here. The DPD line has the clitic without the phrase.
Voice · tomar prestado · Source in de
No dative lender · de is the Source · working, revisable
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Borrower
[VP
[√tomar-
[Theme prestado el libro ]
[PP de Pat ]]]] ← Source · de · not le
Chris toma prestado el libro de Pat.constructed
The subject takes. The other person is not the addressee of a request. de names where the thing is taken from. A language in that phrase is the loanword use. The drawing does not put le on this verb.
The same dative · lend, on prestar
Other lemma · the dative is the Recipient · working, revisable
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lender · not the Borrower
[VP le
[√prestar-
[Theme el libro ]
[PP a Chris ]]]] ← Recipient · the same dative
✓ me prestó sus botas.DPD
This is the frame lend · prestar describes. The direct object can be the same book. The dative cannot be read off the clitic as a source, because prestar fixes it as the Recipient and pedir prestado fixes it as the person asked. French à is the same kind of shared marker, on two simple verbs. German does not use the dative as the source.
Notes
Working paper · October 2026 · Spanish micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Borrowing in Spanish is not one ordinary simple verb. The Borrower is the subject of pedir or of tomar. The Theme is the direct object. prestado agrees with the Theme. On pedir prestado the Source is a plus a noun, or dative le / les, the slot that marks the Recipient of prestar, so the lender is the person asked. On tomar prestado the Source is de plus a noun, and a word taken from a language uses that de. Prestar is lend. emprestar is little used and is not a page. A time phrase is frequent and is not a co-argument.
ES micro-entry liveBeyond Index 2Duration unrankedES prestar liveFR emprunter liveDE leihen borrow live
Sense × language: borrow · Spanish (pedir prestado / tomar prestado). The two periphrases are the page. The loanword use of tomar stays on this page. Regional prestar in the borrow sense stays a DPD note, not the working frame. emprestar stays off as a page. No English borrow hub. Geometry neighbors: lend · prestar, the other lemma, borrow · emprunter, and borrow · leihen. Index 2 Spanish Transfer cites intercambiar, cambiar, dar — not these periphrases.
Working paper.
Spanish micro-entry, third language of borrow. Dictionary frames were read on the DLE articles for pedir, prestar, emprestar, prestado, and préstamo, and on the DPD articles for prestar and pedir. The lend dative is the one already printed on prestar. The French and German splits are the ones already printed on emprunter and leihen.
Constructed examples.
Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. The string with prestar and a Chris is the lend frame, not a borrow line. The string with a bare second object is not a dictionary line. les, prestada, de Pat, the loanword clause, and por una semana are constructed. A rate is not added.
Arity.
Index 2 does not list these periphrases. Surface count can name a borrower, a theme, a source, and a time expression. The lexicon does not list four co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds the Borrower. The root takes the Theme. a / le or de takes the Source. A time expression is not filed as a further sister. The DLE compound he prestado does not agree. Agreement of prestado with the Theme belongs to the periphrasis. That agreement is not an endpoint claim. The DLE conjugates prestar as a regular verb. pedir is the stem-changing model the DLE prints: pido, pedí, pidiendo.
What this page does not do.
It does not open an English page of borrow. It does not rewrite lend · prestar, borrow · emprunter, or borrow · leihen. It does not give emprestar a page. It does not treat regional prestar as the ordinary borrow frame. It does not treat the dative of pedir as English from. It does not treat de as the object of pedir.
Hierarchy
Not a flat grid of four sisters. Voice adds the Borrower. The root takes the Theme, and prestado agrees with it. a or the dative clitic adds the Source of pedir. de adds the Source of tomar. A time expression stays unranked.
What Spanish changes, against English borrow from, is the verb and, on pedir, the preposition. English has one simple verb and from. Spanish has a periphrasis. Pedir puts the lender in the dative that also marks the Recipient of prestar. Tomar puts the source in de. What Spanish changes, against French emprunter and German leihen, is the absence of one ordinary simple verb for the borrow direction.
Lend · prestar. The subject is the Lender. The other person is a or dative le. The Theme is the direct object. The DPD’s printed line is me prestó sus botas. This page does not refile that dative as a borrow argument of prestar.
Borrow · pedir prestado. The subject asks. The Theme is the direct object. prestado agrees with the Theme. The Source is the same dative. The lender is the addressee of the request. English from is not this marking.
Borrow · tomar prestado. The subject takes. The Source is de plus a noun. A word from a language is that frame. The clause is constructed. DLE préstamo sense 4 is the noun for an element a language takes from another.
French · emprunter. One ordinary simple verb. Source à or dative lui. The same à is the Recipient of prêter. Spanish pedir shares the dative with prestar and does not use a simple borrow verb.
German · leihen. One lemma. Reflexive dative for borrow, plain dative for lend, source in von or bei. Spanish does not select borrow with a reflexive on prestar. The DPD’s Bolivian prestarse is a regional borrow use of the lend verb. It is not that German reflexive.
Regional prestar. The DPD records a borrow sense in named American areas, often with de, and a pronominal use in Bolivia, and recommends avoiding them. They stay off the working formula.
alquilar and comprar. Rent keeps both directions on one lemma, and a does not choose lessor or lessee. The selected a of comprar is the seller. Neither is the pair of pedir prestado and prestar, where the dative is shared and the verb is not.
Open items
les. The plural of printed le. Unprinted on the lines read. Not given an analysis beyond that plural.
Doubling. A clitic and a full a-phrase in one pedir prestado clause are unprinted. The constructed stack is not a dictionary line.
A filled tomar prestado clause. Unprinted in the DLE and DPD entries opened. The working Source is de+NP. The printed de of a person is the DPD’s regional prestar.
Duration.por una semana and hasta el lunes are unprinted. They are adjunct-like when written. Argument versus adjunct is not ranked.
emprestar. DLE p. us., both directions. DPD: popular and rural, to be avoided in formal registers. Not a page.
María Moliner and Barron’s 501 Spanish Verbs. Not opened. No filled clause is taken from either. The frames cited are the DLE and the DPD. The conjugation cited is the DLE table.
Corpus filenames and sources checked
Dictionary frames: DLE pedir, prestar, emprestar, prestado, and préstamo; DPD prestar and pedir. Constructed clauses put the DLE’s a alguien, or the DPD’s dative clitic, on Chris and Pat. The de string is the working Source of tomar. The loanword string is constructed beside DLE préstamo sense 4. The prestar string is the lend frame. María Moliner’s Diccionario de uso del español and Barron’s 501 Spanish Verbs were not opened. Index 2 does not list the periphrases. Spanish Transfer in Index 2 is intercambiar, cambiar, dar.
DLE · pedirdle.rae.es/pedir · sense 1 a alguien · algo · pido · pedí · he pedido
DLE · prestardle.rae.es/prestar · sense 1 algo a alguien · participle prestado · he prestado
German borrow borrow · leihen · reflexive dative · source von or bei
María Moliner · Diccionario de uso del españolnot opened · no filled clause taken from it
Barron’s 501 Spanish Verbsnot opened · no filled clause taken from it
Records the subject Borrower, the direct-object Theme, and the agreeing participle of pedir prestado and tomar prestado. Records the Source of pedir in a or in dative le, the same slot as the Recipient of prestar. Records the Source of tomar in de, including a word taken from a language. Records prestar as lend, and records the DPD’s regional borrow use of that verb without making it the working frame. Records the split against English borrow from, against French emprunter, and against German leihen. Does not open an English page.