Headword
Language Spanish · temporary transfer of a returnable theme · lender-side verb · borrow side pedir prestado / tomar prestado · prestarse a a separate sense
Lender, Recipient, Theme · one verb domain · Duration and terms open · Spanish cloth · working claim, revisable
Lend · Voice[LenderNOM] + ApplHAVE(RecipientDAT, ThemeACC) · le doubles the Recipient · por-Duration unranked · a interés where a rate phrase is written
Borrow · not a second numeration of prestar · pedir prestado (request-as-loan) / tomar prestado (take-as-loan) · prestado agrees with the Theme
A lending, on this reading, has a Lender, a Recipient, and a Theme. The DLE’s first sense of prestar is transitive: Entregar algo a alguien para que lo utilice durante algún tiempo y después lo restituya o devuelva. Voice adds the Lender as the nominative subject. Low ApplHAVE introduces the Recipient inside that one verb domain and relates the Recipient to the Theme. The root’s object is the Theme, accusative. The Recipient is a dative indirect object, an a-phrase doubled by the clitic le (plural les). A stretch of time may be named with por. Where the Theme is money, a rate phrase may be named with a interés. They are not five equal sisters of prestar. The time expression and the rate are printed in the working strings below as optional phrases and are not ranked as arguments or as adjuncts. The drawing is the same working claim as the Recipient of pagar and of English give-geometry pay: a low applicative of possession, inside one verb, revisable. Which theta role is the object in this low ApplHAVE domain is the note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Where the frame sits against English and against German. English uses two lemmas. Lend has the lender as subject. Borrow has the borrower as subject. Spanish has one lender-side verb, prestar. The borrow side is a periphrasis, not a second frame of that verb: pedir prestado is request-as-loan, and tomar prestado is take-as-loan. The participle prestado agrees with the Theme. German leihen prints both directions on one lemma: a dative Recipient on the lend frame, and a reflexive dative co-indexed with the subject, plus von or bei, on the borrow frame. verleihen is a further German lemma. It is not a second Spanish verb.
The DLE definition names algo and a alguien and a stretch of use, and it does not print Lender, Recipient, Theme, a por-phrase, and a interés in one clause. The full clause with le doubling is constructed on that definition. The noun préstamo in the DLE is the action of that verb, and a money sense of the noun names return con un interés. That con is the noun’s. The verb-side rate phrase used here is a interés, and it is constructed.
Dictionary frame · transitive · something to someone · a stretch of use in the definition
✓ Entregar algo a alguien para que lo utilice durante algún tiempo y después lo restituya o devuelva. DLE · prestar sense 1 · the return wording is the definition’s · this page does not turn it into an aspect claim
to hand something to someone so that they use it for some time and then give it back
Constructed lend frame · nominative Lender · dative Recipient doubled by le · accusative Theme
✓ Le presté el libro a María. constructed · 1sg · le doubles a María · modelled on DLE algo a alguien
✓ Pat le prestó el libro a María. constructed · the same frame with a named Lender · le doubles a María · the le … a cloth of pagar
Pat lent María the book.
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Spanish marking | Case status | English and German marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender | Spec,Voice of prestar | nominative subject | structural subject of the one lender-side verb · the borrower is not a second subject of prestar | subject of lend · subject of the lend frame of leihen · from of borrow · von/bei when the German subject is the borrower |
| Recipient | low ApplHAVE inside the single verb domain | a + DP, doubled by le / les | dative indirect object · the clitic copies the a-phrase · not a second accusative · the DLE’s goal word is a alguien · the doubled clause is constructed | bare object of lend me the book, or to · dative of leihen · an + accusative is a neighbour cloth of German ausleihen and verleihen, unprinted on prestar |
| Theme | complement of √LEND- (Theme of eHAVE) | accusative direct object (el libro, el dinero) | structural · a money theme is one MeasureP in that object position · the rate is not that object | direct object of lend and of borrow · accusative of leihen |
| Borrower | subject of pedir or of tomar · not Spec,Voice of prestar | pedir prestado · tomar prestado · the participle agrees with the Theme | a periphrasis · DLE emprestar (little used) glosses one sense as Pedir prestado · tomar prestado is the other construction and is not that gloss · the perfect of prestar itself is he prestado, and that participle does not agree | subject of borrow · subject of the borrow frame of leihen, with a reflexive dative |
| Duration | unranked | por una semana · the definition’s wording is durante algún tiempo | optional time phrase · argument versus adjunct unprinted · not given a seat in the formula · the definition’s return wording is not an aspect claim | for a week · German bis morgen on leihen, same open status |
| Terms | a interés where a rate phrase is written · money themes | a interés on the verb · DLE préstamo sense 2 has con un interés on the noun | oblique when the rate is written · one phrase · not a second theme · a and the noun’s con are not ranked against each other | unprinted as a required piece of English lend · German mit or zu where a rate is printed on leihen |
Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the head, then the marker.
Each row lines up one English slot with its Spanish slot, and names the German slot where the direction split differs. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same status), shift (a bare English object ↔ a Spanish dative), or a lexical split of the subject’s direction. The DLE 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.
| Slot | EN form | ES form | Align | EN example | ES example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender as subject | SUBJ of lend | nominative subject of prestar | = for this direction | Pat lent María the book. constructed gloss | Pat le prestó el libro a María. constructed |
| Borrower as subject | SUBJ of borrow · a different English lemma | subject of pedir or tomar plus prestado | lexical split · English uses borrow · Spanish uses a periphrasis · German uses the borrow frame of leihen | Chris borrowed the book from Pat. constructed gloss | Pedir prestado DLE · emprestar sense 1 · Chris le pidió prestado el libro a Pat. constructed |
| Theme | OBJ | accusative | = | lend the book constructed gloss | algo DLE sense 1 |
| Recipient (dative) | bare object of the double-object gloss · to in the other English gloss | a + DP · le / les | shift · one Spanish dative · the clitic doubles it | lend María the book · lend the book to María the two English clothes | a alguien DLE sense 1 · le … a María constructed doubling |
| Participle agreement | unprinted in English borrow | prestado / prestada / prestados with pedir or tomar | Spanish cloth of the periphrasis · the haber participle of prestar stays prestado | — English has no agreeing participle here | prestado DLE participle · tomó prestada la bici constructed · feminine Theme |
| Duration | for a week · status open | por una semana | optional · argument vs adjunct open | for a week constructed gloss | durante algún tiempo DLE sense 1 · por una semana constructed |
| Terms | unprinted as its own English slot in the gloss used here | a interés · money | optional oblique · not a second Theme | at interest constructed gloss | con un interés DLE · préstamo sense 2 · the noun · a interés constructed on the verb |
| prestarse a | lend oneself to · be suited to | pronominal prestarse a | separate sense · not ApplHAVE | Her attitude lends itself to misunderstandings. gloss of the DLE example | Su actitud se presta a malentendidos. DLE sense 8 |
| Two bare objects | the English double object has no case ending and no clitic | bare Recipient beside an accusative Theme, with no a and no le | unprinted · the printed goal is a alguien | — | * Pat prestó María el libro. constructed · not a dictionary line |
| German borrow frame | subject of borrow | unprinted on prestar | German leihen keeps the direction on one lemma · Spanish does not | — | sich etwas leihen the German page · not a Spanish frame |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Spanish under it. The subject chip is the lender on prestar and the borrower on the periphrasis. The rate card stays inside a interés where a rate is written. The pronominal card is the other sense.
EN · ES · Recipient doubled by le
Pat lent María the book. / Pat lent the book to María.
Pat le prestó el libro a María.
ES constructed · one dative · le copies a María · DLE prints algo a alguien · the two English clothes are the gloss
Move one Spanish dative inside ApplHAVE · two English clothes in the gloss
EN · ES · borrow side
Chris borrowed the book from Pat.
Chris le pidió prestado el libro a Pat.
ES constructed · request-as-loan · prestado agrees with el libro · DLE prints the string Pedir prestado on emprestar · German keeps this direction on leihen
Move English borrow is another lemma · Spanish is a periphrasis · German stays on leihen
EN · ES · duration and terms
Pat lent her the money for a week, at interest.
Pat le prestó el dinero a María por una semana a interés.
ES constructed · both phrases optional · the definition has durante algún tiempo · the noun préstamo has con un interés · the stack is not one dictionary line
Move one rate phrase inside a interés · the week stays unranked · not a second Theme
EN · ES · other sense
Her attitude lends itself to misunderstandings.
Su actitud se presta a malentendidos.
ES · DLE sense 8 · pronominal · no returnable Theme · sense 7 is offer oneself to something
Move separate sense · lend oneself to, or be suited to · not the lend frame
Argument difference. English lend does not mean borrow. Pat lent Chris the book and Chris borrowed the book from Pat are two verbs. Spanish prints the lender as the subject of prestar and prints the borrower as the subject of pedir or tomar with the participle prestado. German prints both directions on leihen, and prints verleihen as another lemma. The Theme of prestar is accusative. The Recipient is dative, doubled by le. On the borrow side the same participle agrees with that Theme. DLE synonyms of sense 1 are dejar, fiar, and emprestar. They are not pages. DLE senses 2 through 4 (ayudar, dar o comunicar, tener u observar, with the example Prestar atención, paciencia, silencio) and the intransitive senses 5 and 6 stay off the returnable-theme frame.
Dictionary lines · quoted as printed · no page numbers added
Entregar algo a alguien para que lo utilice durante algún tiempo y después lo restituya o devuelva. DLE · prestar sense 1 · synonyms dejar, fiar, emprestar
Prestar atención, paciencia, silencio. DLE · sense 4 · tener u observar · not the returnable-theme frame
Ofrecerse, allanarse, avenirse a algo. DLE · sense 7 · pronominal · lend oneself to
Dar motivo u ocasión para algo. Su actitud se presta a malentendidos. DLE · sense 8 · pronominal · be suited to
Pedir prestado. · prestar (‖ entregar algo a alguien para que lo devuelva). DLE · emprestar · little used · not a page
Acción y efecto de prestar (‖ entregar algo a alguien para que lo devuelva). · Cantidad de dinero que se solicita, generalmente a una institución financiera, con la obligación de devolverlo con un interés. · Nos han denegado el préstamo. DLE · préstamo senses 1 and 2 · the con is the noun’s
Participle of prestar: prestado. Present presto. Preterite presté. Compound he prestado. DLE paradigm · regular -ar · Kendris is the conjugation manual · no page and no sentence quoted from it · Moliner is the usage dictionary · no page and no sentence quoted from it
Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat / María / Chris continue the named-participant series on vender. A name does not spell dative. a María with le does.
✓ Pat le prestó el libro a María.
constructed · a alguien is DLE’s goal · le is the doubling clitic
✓ Pat le prestó el dinero a María por una semana.
constructed · por una semana fills durante algún tiempo · the week stays unranked
✓ Pat le prestó el dinero a María a interés.
constructed · a interés is one rate phrase · DLE’s con un interés is on the noun préstamo · por is not in this string
✓ Chris le pidió prestado el libro a Pat.
constructed · request-as-loan · masculine singular participle with el libro · the string Pedir prestado is DLE’s
✓ Chris tomó prestada la bici.
constructed · take-as-loan · prestada agrees with la bici · a source phrase is not in this string
✓ Su actitud se presta a malentendidos.
DLE sense 8 · separate sense · not ApplHAVE
* Pat prestó María el libro.
constructed · bare Recipient · the printed goal is a alguien · the working clause has le
The clitic and the participle are operations on places the clause already has. They do not add a participant.
le doubles a. The indirect object is an a-phrase that a dative clitic doubles. Singular is le. Plural is les. The constructed Pat le prestó el libro a María puts le on DLE’s a alguien. María remains the Recipient. se lo is the form of that dative clitic before an accusative clitic. It is unprinted as a line of prestar. It is not DLE sense 7 or sense 8.
No particle on prestar. The DLE table is regular: presto, presté, ha prestado. The participle of that compound is invariable prestado. Agreement belongs to pedir prestado and tomar prestado.
The borrow side is outside this verb. pedir and tomar take their own subjects. prestado is a participle in that periphrasis, agreeing with the Theme. German puts the matching subject on leihen and adds a reflexive dative. Spanish does not.
prestarse a is another sense. The reflexive clitic there is the pronominal verb of DLE senses 7 and 8. It is not a Recipient of a book or of a sum.
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The point of the drawing is one accusative Theme, a Recipient that is a dative doubled by le, and a borrow side that is a periphrasis whose participle agrees with the Theme. Open one sketch at a time. The low ApplHAVE claim is the same working claim as on pay and pagar, and it stays revisable.
Constructed · one lender-side verb
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lender = Spec,Voice · nominative … lend numeration of prestar … ]
✓ Pat le prestó el libro a María. constructed
The borrower is the subject of pedir or of tomar. English puts the two external arguments on lend and borrow. German puts both on leihen. prestar has the lender only.
One Recipient · dative · inside the single verb domain · not a second accusative
[VoiceP Pat Voice
[ApplP_LOW [a María]_DAT Appl_HAVE ← Recipient · HAVE the theme for the stretch the definition names
[VP √prest-
[Theme el libro ]_ACC ] ← Theme · one accusative
le ]] ← clitic double of the Recipient · not a second argument
The borrow-side periphrasis, working and revisable, is another verb plus an agreeing participle. It is not a second numeration of prestar, and it is not the German reflexive dative.
[VoiceP Chris Voice
[VP √ped- / √tom-
[PartP prestad- [Theme el libro / la bici ] ] ]]
← prestado agrees with the Theme
✓ a alguien DLE · lend frame · no rate
✓ Pedir prestado DLE · emprestar · the periphrasis, not a frame of prestar
* Pat prestó María el libro. constructed · the Recipient is not a bare second object
One accusative when the Theme is money · the rate is inside a interés · the time expression is not ranked inside either
[Theme [ el dinero ] ]_ACC a interés ← constructed rate phrase · the noun’s con un interés is not this head por una semana ← constructed beside the definition’s durante algún tiempo · argument vs adjunct open
✓ durante algún tiempo DLE sense 1 · the stretch is the definition’s wording
✓ con un interés DLE · préstamo sense 2 · one rate on the noun
el dinero = one object. A currency name inside a sum is not an extra argument. a interés = one rate phrase. It does not compose as a second object. por una semana is a filled time phrase. It is not given a MeasureP, and it is not classified as an argument or as an adjunct. Nothing here is a claim about aspect.
Working · no English lend page is opened · the German page is leihen
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lender
[ApplP_LOW María Appl_HAVE ← Recipient
[VP √LEND
[Theme the book ]]]] ← English lend María the book / lend the book to María
· Spanish: one dative, le doubles a María
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Borrower
[VP √BORROW
[Theme the book ]
[PP from Pat ]]] ← English borrow
· Spanish: pedir prestado / tomar prestado
· German: leihen, reflexive dative, von or bei
English keeps the two directions on two verbs. German prints them as two numerations of leihen, and keeps verleihen as another lemma. Spanish prints the lender on prestar and the borrower on a periphrasis. The participle of that periphrasis agrees with the Theme. prestarse a stays off this drawing.
| Layer | lend (EN) · no page | borrow (EN) · no page | prestar | pedir / tomar prestado | leihen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spec,Voice | Lender | Borrower | Lender | Borrower, of the other verb | Lender, or Borrower on the other numeration |
| other party | bare object, or to | from | dative Recipient · le doubles a | the person asked, in the constructed le … a of pedir | dative Recipient, or reflexive dative plus von/bei |
| accusative | the theme | the theme | the theme · a sum is one MeasureP | the theme · prestado agrees with it | the theme |
| rate / time | unprinted as a required piece | unprinted as a required piece | a interés and por where written · unranked | unprinted on the lines used here | mit or zu · bis morgen unranked |
| other sense | unasserted here | unasserted here | prestarse a · DLE 7 and 8 | not this periphrasis | Duden sense 3 of leihen stays off that page’s frame |
On prestar, María comes to HAVE the book, or the sum, for the stretch the definition calls durante algún tiempo. On pagar, the accusative is the money and por is Consideration. On prestar a money accusative is the Theme, and a written rate is a interés, not that Consideration. On alquilar both directions sit on one lemma. On prestar the borrow direction does not.
Working paper · October 2026 · Spanish micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Temporary transfer in Spanish: one lender-side verb. Lender (Voice, nominative subject), Recipient (dative, doubled by le), Theme (accusative). por una semana and a interés are optional and unranked. The borrow side is pedir prestado (request-as-loan) or tomar prestado (take-as-loan), and prestado agrees with the Theme. prestarse a is a separate sense. English lend and borrow are two lemmas. German leihen keeps both directions, and verleihen is another lemma.
Not a flat grid of five sisters. A flat grid would give the verb two bare objects, or a rate that is a second object, or a borrow direction on the same verb. prestar shows one accusative, the Theme, and a Recipient in the dative, doubled by le.
el dinero = one object. See the MeasureP sketch. a interés is the rate phrase beside that object. It is not a second object. con un interés on DLE préstamo is the noun’s wording of a rate.
What Spanish shows, against the English gloss and against German, is where the direction lives. English uses lend or borrow. German uses two frames of leihen, and a separate verleihen. Spanish uses prestar for the lender, and pedir prestado or tomar prestado for the borrower, with prestado agreeing with the Theme.
In the constructed Pat le prestó el libro a María, María comes to HAVE the book. The definition names a stretch of use, durante algún tiempo. This page quotes that wording and does not add an aspect label.
Dictionary frames: DLE prestar, emprestar, and préstamo. Constructed clauses put the printed a alguien on a named Recipient and add le. The agreeing participles are the working form of pedir prestado and tomar prestado. Barron’s 501 Spanish Verbs (Kendris) is the conjugation manual for the regular verb whose forms the DLE table prints. María Moliner’s Diccionario de uso del español is the usage dictionary of the lemma. No page number and no quotation from either book is given. Index 2 does not list prestar. Spanish Transfer in Index 2 is intercambiar, cambiar, dar.
Records the nominative Lender, the accusative Theme, and the dative Recipient doubled by le. Records por una semana and a interés as optional. Records the borrow side as pedir prestado and tomar prestado, with agreement of prestado. Records prestarse a as a separate sense. Records the direction split against English lend / borrow and against German leihen / verleihen.