Language French · temporary transfer of a returnable theme · lender-side verb · borrow-side converse lemma emprunter · prêter attention and prêter serment kept apart
Arguments
Lender, Recipient, Theme · converse lemma for the other direction · Duration and terms open · French cloth · working claim, revisable
Lend · Voice[Lender] + ApplHAVE(RecipientDAT, ThemeACC) · Recipient = à-PP or lui/leur · clitic order le lui · pour-Duration unranked · à intérêt where a rate phrase is written
Borrow · a different lemma · Voice[Borrower] + ThemeACC + à-Source · emprunter qqch à qqn · the same à marks the Source, not the Recipient
A lending, on this reading, has a Lender, a Recipient, and a Theme. The TLFi’s opening frame is Prêter qqc. à qqn, and the definition of that sense is Mettre une chose à la disposition de quelqu’un à condition qu’il la rendra. The antonym printed there is emprunter. Voice adds the Lender as the subject of prêter. Low ApplHAVE introduces the Recipient inside that one verb domain and relates the Recipient to the Theme. The root’s object is the Theme, a direct object. The Recipient is an à-phrase, or the dative clitic lui (plural leur). When the Theme is also a clitic, the accusative clitic stands before that third-person dative: le lui prêter. A stretch of time may be named with pour. Where the Theme is money, a rate phrase may be named with à intérêt. They are not five equal sisters of prêter. 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 payer 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 the English gloss, and against German and Spanish. English lend does not mean borrow. The best single-word gloss of prêter is lend, and the frame still diverges. English lend takes a bare Recipient or to. English borrow takes the borrower as subject and a separative from. French does not put both directions on prêter. The borrow side is the converse lemma emprunter: Borrower subject, Theme object, Source as an à-phrase, emprunter qqch à qqn. That à marks the Source. It is the opposite role from prêter’s à-Recipient, and it is not English from. German leihen prints both directions on one lemma: a dative Recipient on the lend frame, and a reflexive dative plus von or bei on the borrow frame. verleihen is a further German lemma. Spanish prestar is one lender-side verb, with the Recipient doubled by le. The Spanish borrow side is the periphrasis pedir prestado / tomar prestado, not a converse lemma.
Places · who wears which marking
The TLFi frame names qqc. and à qqn. It does not print Lender, Recipient, Theme, a pour-phrase, and à intérêt in one clause. The Académie prints Prêter sa voiture à quelqu’un and, on another line, Prêter à intérêt. France’s pour quelques heures is a different citation from Beauvoir’s je le prête à des amis. The two-clitic string le lui is not one of those lines.
Dictionary frame · direct object · à-phrase · return in the definition
✓ Prêter qqc. à qqn.Mettre une chose à la disposition de quelqu’un à condition qu’il la rendra. Anton. emprunter. TLFi · prêter I.A.1 · the return wording is the definition’s · this page does not turn it into an aspect claim
to put a thing at someone’s disposal on condition that he give it back
Dictionary borrow frame · the converse lemma · à is the person one borrows from
✓ Emprunter quelque chose à quelqu’un ou, vieilli, de quelqu’un. Académie française, 9e édition · emprunter · via CNRTL
to borrow something from someone · the current preposition in that line is à · de is marked vieilli
Places of prêter and emprunter: introducer, French marking, case status, English, German, and Spanish marking
Place
Introduced by (working)
French marking
Case status
English, German, and Spanish marking
Lender
Spec,Voice of prêter · à on emprunter
subject of prêter · à + DP, or lui/leur, when the subject is the borrower
structural subject of the lender-side verb · on the converse lemma the same à is the Source, not a Recipient · de + person is vieilli in the Académie line and is no longer the loan construction in Larousse
subject of lend · from of borrow, a separative preposition · dative Recipient of leihen, or von/bei when the German subject is the borrower · subject of prestar, not of a Spanish converse lemma
Recipient
low ApplHAVE inside prêter
à + DP, or dative clitic lui / leur
dative · not a second direct object · the clitic and the à-phrase are printed in separate strings · a doubled lui … à clause is unprinted · not the Source of emprunter
bare object of lend me the book, or to · dative of leihen · a + DP doubled by le on prestar
Theme
complement of √LEND- (Theme of eHAVE) · direct object of emprunter as well
direct object (le livre, de l’argent, sa voiture) · accusative clitic le / la / les
structural · a money theme is one MeasureP in that object position · the rate is not that object · an object and a sum are one sense in the TLFi bracket, not two verbs
direct object of lend and of borrow · accusative of leihen · accusative of prestar
Borrower
Spec,Voice of emprunter · not Spec,Voice of prêter
subject of the converse lemma
a second lemma · TLFi prints emprunter as the antonym of the lend sense · Larousse glosses the loan sense as Se faire prêter quelque chose par quelqu’un
subject of borrow · subject of the borrow frame of leihen, with a reflexive dative · subject of pedir or tomar, not of prestar
Duration
unranked
pour quelques heures in the France citation · the definitions’ wording is a limited stretch (pour un temps limité, pour un temps déterminé)
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 few hours · German bis morgen on leihen · Spanish por una semana, same open status
Terms
à intérêt where a rate phrase is written · money themes
à intérêt (Académie 9) · à intérêts, sans intérêts (TLFi)
oblique when the rate is written · one phrase · not a second theme · singular and plural of intérêt are the entries’ and are not ranked · sur gage is collateral in those lines, not the rate
unprinted as a required piece of English lend · German mit or zu where a rate is printed on leihen · Spanish a interés on the verb
Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the head, then the marker. On these two verbs the letter à changes role with the lemma.
Subject of the Lender. The subject of prêter is the one who puts the thing at the other person’s disposal. TLFi I.A.1 is transitive. The Académie 9e present is a regular -er verb: je prête, tu prêtes, il prête, nous prêtons, vous prêtez, ils prêtent. The participle in the citations read here is prêté (avait prêté, serment prêté). No page of a conjugation manual is cited, and no sentence from one is quoted.
Direct object of the Theme. TLFi’s qqc. is the thing, and the same numbered sense says the object can be an object or money: [Le compl. d’obj. désigne un objet, de l’argent]. Académie 9 prints Prêter sa voiture à quelqu’un and Prêter de l’argent à un ami under that one restitution sense. A sum in that slot is one MeasureP. It is not the rate. Beauvoir’s je le prête is the Theme as the accusative clitic le.
Dative of the Recipient, à or lui/leur. TLFi’s goal is à qqn. Académie 9 prints à quelqu’un and à un ami. Larousse sense 1 prints the clitic without an à-phrase: Pouvez-vous me prêter vingt euros ? France prints lui with no à-phrase in the same clause: qu’on lui avait prêté. Beauvoir prints le with à des amis, not lui with à. The clitic and the full à-phrase are one Recipient when either one is written. Spanish-style doubling of clitic and à-phrase in one clause is unprinted on prêter. It is not filed. Plural leur is the plural dative clitic. It is unprinted on the returnable-theme lines read here.
Clitic order. A third-person dative stands after an accusative clitic: le lui, la lui, les lui, le leur. Before the infinitive that order is le lui prêter. A first- or second-person dative stands before the accusative clitic: me le, te le, nous le, vous le. Larousse prints me with a full Theme, not with le. Camus prints lui before the infinitive emprunter, with a full Theme. The two-clitic clusters are the general order. They are unprinted as a dictionary line of prêter and are not a further argument. The constructed finite clause is Pat le lui prête.
Borrow side, emprunter. A converse lemma, not a second numeration of prêter and not a periphrasis. TLFi: the subject is a person, the direct object is a concrete thing, and a second complement introduced by de (vieilli) or by à names the person one borrows from. The definition is Recevoir à titre de prêt. France: emprunta une robe rayée, un fichu, une coiffe de dentelle à la citoyenne Blaise. The à-phrase is the Source. Beauvoir: les livres que je lui avais empruntés. There lui is that Source, and the participle empruntés agrees with les livres. Camus: lui emprunter une cravate noire. Larousse’s current loan construction is emprunter à, with the remark that de in the sense “obtenir à titre de prêt” is no longer in use, and Larousse quotes Littré’s j’ai emprunté mille francs de mon ami as that older construction. Académie 9 marks de quelqu’un vieilli. English from is separative. French à on this lemma is not.
Money and objects, one verb. The TLFi bracket puts an object and money in one sense. Académie 9’s elliptical line is money: Prêter de l’argent à un ami ou, elliptiquement, prêter à un ami. The Theme can drop, and what remains is a loan of money. Le Robert’s line sans complément indirect Elle ne prête pas ses livres drops the Recipient and keeps the books. Those are two different omissions. They are not ranked, and they do not split prêter into a money verb and an object verb. Absolute use in the TLFi is glossed Prêter de l’argent.
Duration. France, as the TLFi prints it: qu’on lui avait prêté pour quelques heures. Larousse’s sense 1 says pour un temps limité. Le Robert says pour un temps déterminé. Académie 9 says pour un temps limité. pour quelques heures is a filled time phrase on that wording. Argument versus adjunct is open. Nothing here is a claim about aspect.
Terms, for money. Académie 9: Prêter à intérêt, prêter sur gage. TLFi: Prêter à intérêts, sans intérêts; prêter sur gage. à intérêt and à intérêts are one rate phrase beside a money Theme. They are optional: the car line and the book line have no rate. sans intérêts is the rate phrase negated, still one phrase. sur gage is collateral in those lines. It is not filed as the rate, and it is not ranked against à intérêt. The money remains the direct object.
prêter attention and prêter serment. Separate senses. Larousse sense 4: locutions with a bare noun, meaning apporter, donner, faire. The printed lines are Prêter attention à un détail and Prêter serment (= jurer). Académie 9 files them under accorder, fournir, not under the restitution sense: Il ne prête aucune attention à mes conseils and Prêter serment à la Constitution, prêter serment devant un tribunal. TLFi files Prêter attention under the locutions of granting attention, and Prêter serment under the legal domain. The à of à un détail and of à la Constitution is not a Recipient of a returnable Theme. There is no book and no sum.
se prêter à, prêter à, and the ascribe sense. Further senses, kept off the returnable-theme frame. Larousse pronominal: Il se prête volontiers à la discussion and Une région qui se prête à l’élevage. Académie 9: Je ne me prêterai pas à pareille comédie, and of a thing Ce sujet se prête à de longs développements. That pair is consent, or be suited to. Larousse’s indirect transitive is Ceci prête à discussion. Larousse sense 2 is ascribe: Pourquoi me prêtez-vous de si noires intentions ? Le Robert prints the same split: the restitution sense cross-refers prêt with the parenthesis (s’oppose à emprunter), and a further sense is attribuer. The ascribe sense is not given the geometry of attribuer.
EN ⇄ FR valency strip
Each row lines up one English slot with its French slot, and names the German and Spanish slot where the direction split differs. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same status), shift (a bare English object ↔ a French dative), or a lexical split of the subject’s direction. Dictionary lines come first. Every other French sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.
English–French valency alignment for lend / prêter, one row per argument
Slot
EN form
FR form
Align
EN example
FR example
Lender as subject
SUBJ of lend
subject of prêter
= for this direction
Pat lent Marie the book. constructed gloss
Pat prête le livre à Marie.constructed
Borrower as subject
SUBJ of borrow · a different English lemma
subject of emprunter · a different French lemma
lexical split · English uses borrow and from · French uses emprunter and à · German stays on leihen · Spanish uses a periphrasis
Chris borrowed the book from Pat. constructed gloss
Emprunter quelque chose à quelqu’un.Académie 9 · Chris emprunte le livre à Pat.constructed
Theme
OBJ
direct object
=
lend the book constructed gloss
qqc.TLFi · sa voitureAcadémie 9
Recipient (dative)
bare object of the double-object gloss · to in the other English gloss
à + DP · or lui / leur
shift · one French dative · the two clothes are separate printed strings
lend Marie the book · lend the book to Marie the two English clothes
à qqnTLFi · me prêter vingt eurosLarousse
Clitic order
unprinted · English has no clitic cluster
accusative before 3rd-person dative · le lui · 1st/2nd dative before the accusative · me le
French cloth · the cluster is not a dictionary line of prêter
—
je le prête à des amisTLFi · Beauvoir · le lui prêterconstructed order
Source à
from · separative
à + DP on emprunter · or lui
shift · same preposition as the Recipient of prêter · opposite role
borrow from Pat constructed gloss
à la citoyenne BlaiseTLFi · France · lui avais empruntésTLFi · Beauvoir
Source de
from
de + person · vieilli for a loan
older cloth · not the current loan construction
—
de quelqu’unAcadémie 9 · vieilli · de mon amiLarousse quoting Littré · no longer in use for this sense
Duration
for a few hours · status open
pour quelques heures
optional · argument vs adjunct open
for a few hours constructed gloss
pour quelques heuresTLFi · France
Terms
unprinted as its own English slot in the gloss used here
à intérêt · money
optional oblique · not a second Theme
at interest constructed gloss
Prêter à intérêtAcadémie 9 · à intérêts, sans intérêtsTLFi
prêter attention / prêter serment
pay attention · take an oath
locutions · bare noun in Larousse · not a returnable Theme
separate senses
pay attention to a detail · take an oath glosses of the printed locutions
Prêter attention à un détail. Prêter serment.Larousse sense 4
Two bare objects
the English double object has no preposition and no clitic
bare Recipient beside a direct-object Theme, with no à and no lui
unprinted · the printed goal is à qqn
—
* Pat prête Marie le livre.constructed · not a dictionary line
German and Spanish borrow side
subject of borrow
unprinted on prêter · printed on emprunter
German leihen keeps the direction on one lemma · Spanish uses a periphrasis · French uses a converse lemma
—
sich etwas leihen · pedir prestadothe sibling pages · not French frames
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and French under it. The subject chip is the lender on prêter and the borrower on emprunter. The rate card stays inside à intérêt where a rate is written. The locution card is the other senses.
EN · FR · Recipient · à or lui
le lui · à Marie
Pat lent Marie the book. / Pat lent the book to Marie.
Pat le lui prête. / Pat prête le livre à Marie.
FR constructed · one dative · accusative clitic before lui · TLFi prints qqc. à qqn and, separately, je le prête à des amis · the two English clothes are the gloss
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientTheme
Lender PatRecipient lui · à MarieTheme le · le livre
Moveone French dative inside ApplHAVE · le lui is order, not a third argument · two English clothes in the gloss
EN · FR · converse lemma
emprunter qqch à qqn
Chris borrowed the book from Pat.
Chris emprunte le livre à Pat.
FR constructed · à is the Source · Académie 9 prints à quelqu’un · English from is separative · German keeps this direction on leihen · Spanish uses pedir prestado
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource à PatTheme le livre
Movesame à as prêter’s Recipient · opposite role · not English from
EN · FR · duration and terms
pour quelques heures · à intérêt
Pat lent her the money for a few hours, at interest.
Pat lui prête l’argent à intérêt.
FR constructed for the stack · pour quelques heures is France’s, in the TLFi · Prêter à intérêt is the Académie 9 line · the two phrases are not one dictionary line · the rate is optional
RolesHide rolesRecipientThemeTerms
Recipient luiTheme l’argentTerms à intérêt
Moveone rate phrase inside à intérêt · the hours stay unranked · not a second Theme
EN · FR · other senses
attention · serment
Pay attention to a detail. Take an oath.
Prêter attention à un détail. Prêter serment.
FR · Larousse sense 4 · locutions · no returnable Theme · se prêter à is a further sense on that page and in the Académie
RolesHide rolesBare nounà-phrase
Not a returnable Theme attention · sermentNot a Recipient à un détail
Moveseparate senses · not the lend frame · not ApplHAVE
Examples
Argument difference. English lend does not mean borrow. Pat lent Chris the book and Chris borrowed the book from Pat are two verbs, and the second verb’s source preposition is separative from. French prints the lender as the subject of prêter and the borrower as the subject of emprunter. The Theme is the direct object on both. The other party is an à-phrase, or lui/leur, on both — and the role of that à flips. On prêter it is the Recipient. On emprunter it is the Source. German prints both directions on leihen, with von or bei for the source, and prints verleihen as another lemma. Spanish prints the lender on prestar and the borrower on pedir prestado or tomar prestado. prêter attention and prêter serment stay off the returnable-theme frame.
Dictionary lines · quoted as printed · no page numbers added beyond the ones the TLFi prints
Prêter qqc. à qqn, à qqc.Mettre une chose à la disposition de quelqu’un à condition qu’il la rendra. Anton. emprunter. TLFi · I.A.1 · cnrtl.fr/definition/prêter
Quand j’ai lu un livre je le prête à des amis qui ne me le rendent pas.TLFi · Beauvoir, Les Mandarins, 1954, p. 290 · accusative le · à des amis
qu’on lui avait prêté pour quelques heuresTLFi · France, La Vie littéraire, 1891, p. 363 · dative lui · pour-phrase
Prêter sa voiture à quelqu’un. Prêter de l’argent à un ami ou, elliptiquement, prêter à un ami. Prêter à intérêt, prêter sur gage.Académie française, 9e édition · dictionnaire-academie.fr · prêter · present je prête, tu prêtes, il prête, nous prêtons, vous prêtez, ils prêtent
Pouvez-vous me prêter vingt euros ?Larousse · sense 1 · larousse.fr · prêter · dative me · money Theme
Prêter attention à un détail. Prêter serment (= jurer). Larousse · sense 4 · locutions · not the returnable-theme frame
Mettre (qqch.) à la disposition de qqn pour un temps déterminé.Fournir (une chose) à la condition qu’elle sera rendue.prêt (s’oppose à emprunter). Prêter de l’argent à qqn.Elle ne prête pas ses livres.Prêter sur gage.Prêter attention à… Prêter serment.Le Robert · dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/preter
Recevoir à titre de prêt. Second complement de (vieilli) or à, the person one borrows from. emprunta une robe rayée, un fichu, une coiffe de dentelle à la citoyenne Blaise.les livres que je lui avais empruntés.lui emprunter une cravate noire.TLFi · emprunter · cnrtl.fr/definition/emprunter · France, Les Dieux ont soif, 1912, p. 254 · Beauvoir, Mémoires d’une jeune fille rangée, 1958, p. 201 · Camus, L’Étranger, 1942, p. 1125
Emprunter quelque chose à quelqu’un ou, vieilli, de quelqu’un. Emprunter de l’argent à un ami, à une banque.Académie française, 9e édition · via cnrtl.fr · académie9 · emprunter
Emprunter à : emprunter de l’argent à quelqu’un. Construction la plus courante. de in the loan sense is no longer in use: j’ai emprunté mille francs de mon ami (Littré, as Larousse quotes it). Larousse · Difficultés · larousse.fr · emprunter
Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat / Marie / Chris continue the named-participant series on vendre and payer. A name does not spell dative. à Marie or lui does.
✓Pat prête le livre à Marie.
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientTheme
Lender PatRecipient à MarieTheme le livre
constructed · qqc. à qqn is the TLFi frame · à quelqu’un is the Académie 9 car line
✓Pat le lui prête.
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientTheme
Lender PatRecipient luiTheme le
constructed · order le lui · Beauvoir prints le with à · France prints lui · the cluster is not a dictionary line
✓Pat lui prête l’argent à intérêt.
RolesHide rolesLenderRecipientThemeTerms
Lender PatRecipient luiTheme l’argentTerms à intérêt
constructed · à intérêt is the Académie 9 rate · optional · pour is not in this string · sur gage is not this phrase
✓Chris emprunte le livre à Pat.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource à PatTheme le livre
constructed · à is the Source · modelled on Académie 9 and on France’s à la citoyenne Blaise · not the Recipient of prêter
✓Chris lui emprunte le livre.
RolesHide rolesBorrowerSourceTheme
Borrower ChrisSource luiTheme le livre
constructed · lui is the Source · modelled on Camus lui emprunter and Beauvoir lui avais empruntés · the same clitic is the Recipient on prêter
✓Prêter attention à un détail.
RolesHide rolesLocution
Not a returnable Theme attention
Larousse sense 4 · separate sense · prêter serment is the other locution on that line
*Pat prête Marie le livre.
RolesHide rolesRecipientTheme
Recipient MarieTheme le livre
constructed · bare Recipient · the printed goal is à qqn
*Pat lui le prête.
RolesHide rolesOrderTheme
Order lui leTheme le
constructed · third-person dative does not precede the accusative clitic · the order is le lui · not a dictionary line
✓ qqc. à qqnTLFi · direct-object Theme · à-Recipient
✓ Pat le lui prête.constructed · le before lui
✓ me leconstructed order · 1st-person dative precedes the accusative · Larousse prints me with a full Theme
✓ pour quelques heuresTLFi · France · duration unranked
✓ à intérêtAcadémie 9 · one optional rate phrase
✓ emprunter qqch à qqnAcadémie 9 · à = Source
✓ Prêter attention à un détail. Prêter serment.Larousse sense 4
✓ je prêteAcadémie 9 · present · regular -er
prêter is the lender-side verb · lui is a place the clause already has
The clitic does not add a participant. It spells a place the lemma has already assigned.
lui is the Recipient on prêter. Singular lui, plural leur. France’s on lui avait prêté and Larousse’s me prêter vingt euros put the dative clitic on the person who receives the thing. à Marie is the same place as a full phrase. The two are not printed together on this verb. le lui orders the Theme clitic before that Recipient clitic. It is not a second Recipient.
The same clitic is the Source on emprunter. Beauvoir’s lui avais empruntés and Camus’s lui emprunter use lui for the person the thing comes from. The letter does not choose the role. The lemma does. English from chooses it by a different preposition. French à does not.
No particle on prêter. The Académie 9 table is regular: prête, prêtons, prêtent. The participle in the TLFi citations is prêté. Agreement with a preceding direct object is what Beauvoir’s empruntés shows with les livres. That agreement is the participle’s. It is not a further argument.
The borrow side is the other verb.emprunter takes its own subject. German puts the matching subject on leihen and adds a reflexive dative. Spanish puts it on pedir or tomar plus prestado. French puts it on emprunter.
prêter attention, prêter serment, and se prêter à are other senses. The bare nouns and the pronominal verb are not a Recipient of a book or of a sum.
Derivations · working sketches, revisable
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The point of the drawing is one direct-object Theme, a Recipient that is an à-phrase or lui/leur, clitic order le lui, and a converse lemma whose à is the Source. Open one sketch at a time. The low ApplHAVE claim is the same working claim as on pay and payer, and it stays revisable.
Voice · the external argument of prêter is the Lender
Constructed · one lender-side verb · the borrower is another lemma
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lender = Spec,Voice of prêter
… lend numeration of prêter … ]
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Borrower = Spec,Voice of emprunter
… not a numeration of prêter … ]
✓ Pat prête le livre à Marie.constructed
✓ Chris emprunte le livre à Pat.constructed
English puts the two external arguments on lend and borrow. German puts both on leihen. Spanish puts the lender on prestar and the borrower on a periphrasis. prêter has the lender only.
Low ApplHAVE · dative Recipient · le lui is order
One Recipient · dative · inside the single verb domain · not a second direct object
[VoiceP Pat Voice
[ApplP_LOW [à Marie]_DAT Appl_HAVE ← Recipient · HAVE the theme for the stretch the definitions name
[VP √prêt-
[Theme le livre ]_ACC ]]
lui / le lui ] ← clitic spell-out · le before lui · not a second argument
The converse lemma, working and revisable, does not reuse that Recipient. The à-phrase is the Source. It is not a low applicative of possession pointed the other way, and it is not the German reflexive dative.
[VoiceP Chris Voice
[VP √emprunt-
[Theme le livre ]_ACC
[PP à [ Pat ] ]]] ← Source · same preposition · opposite role
← lui spells this Source when the phrase is a clitic
✓ à qqnTLFi · lend frame · Recipient
✓ à quelqu’unAcadémie 9 · emprunter · Source
* Pat prête Marie le livre.constructed · the Recipient is not a bare second object
* Pat lui le prête.constructed · the order is le lui
MeasureP · money is the Theme · a rate is a different phrase
One direct object when the Theme is money · the rate is inside à intérêt · the time expression is not ranked inside either
[Theme [ l’argent ] ]_ACC
à intérêt ← Académie 9 · TLFi also prints à intérêts and sans intérêts · one rate phrase
pour quelques heures ← France, in the TLFi · argument vs adjunct open
sur gage ← collateral in the same entries · not the rate · not ranked
✓ pour quelques heuresTLFi · France · the stretch is a citation, not an aspect label
✓ Prêter à intérêtAcadémie 9 · one optional rate
l’argent = one object. A currency name inside a sum is not an extra argument. à intérêt = one rate phrase. It does not compose as a second object. pour quelques heures 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.
English, German, and Spanish · where the direction and the preposition live
Working · no English lend page is opened · German leihen · Spanish prestar
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lender
[ApplP_LOW Marie Appl_HAVE ← Recipient
[VP √LEND
[Theme the book ]]]] ← English lend Marie the book / lend the book to Marie
· French: à Marie, or lui · le before lui
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Borrower
[VP √BORROW
[Theme the book ]
[PP from Pat ]]] ← English borrow · from is separative
· French: emprunter · à Pat is the Source
· German: leihen, reflexive dative, von or bei
· Spanish: pedir prestado / tomar prestado
English keeps the two directions on two verbs and keeps the source preposition separative. German prints both directions on leihen and keeps verleihen as another lemma. Spanish prints the lender on prestar and the borrower on a periphrasis, and doubles the Recipient with le. French prints the lender on prêter and the borrower on emprunter, and prints à for both the Recipient and the Source. prêter attention and prêter serment stay off this drawing.
Layer-by-layer parallel: English lend, English borrow, French prêter, French emprunter, German leihen, Spanish prestar
Lender, or Borrower on the other numeration of leihen · Lender only on prestar
other party
bare object, or to
from
dative Recipient · à or lui/leur · le lui
Source · the same à or lui · de vieilli
German dative, or reflexive dative plus von/bei · Spanish a doubled by le
object
the theme
the theme
the theme · a sum is one MeasureP
the theme · empruntés agrees with a preceding one in the Beauvoir line
the theme · Spanish prestado agrees on the periphrasis
rate / time
unprinted as a required piece
unprinted as a required piece
à intérêt and pour where written · unranked
unprinted on the loan lines used here
German mit or zu · bis morgen · Spanish a interés and por
other sense
unasserted here
unasserted here
attention, serment, se prêter à
the path sense and the figurative “take from” stay off this frame
prestarse a · Duden sense 3 of leihen stays off that page’s frame · verleihen is not a page
On prêter, Marie comes to HAVE the book, or the sum, for the stretch the definitions call limited. On payer, the direct object is the money and pour is Consideration. On prêter a money object is the Theme, and a written rate is à intérêt, not that Consideration. On louer both directions sit on one lemma, and à does not choose lessor or lessee. On prêter the borrow direction is emprunter, and à does choose: Recipient on one lemma, Source on the other.
Notes
Working paper · October 2026 · French micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Temporary transfer in French: one lender-side verb, and a converse lemma for the other direction. Lender (Voice, subject of prêter), Recipient (à or dative lui/leur), Theme (direct object). Clitic order puts the accusative before the third-person dative: le lui prêter. pour quelques heures and à intérêt are optional and unranked. emprunter has the borrower as subject and the same à as Source. English borrow uses separative from. prêter attention and prêter serment are separate senses. German leihen keeps both directions, and verleihen is another lemma. Spanish prestar is lender-side only.
FR micro-entry liveBeyond Index 2Duration unrankedDE leihen liveES prestar live
Sense × language: lend · French (prêter). The returnable-theme sense is the page. Larousse sense 4 and the Académie locutions stay off that frame, recorded as prêter attention and prêter serment. se prêter à and the ascribe sense stay off it as well. Converse page: borrow · emprunter. No English lend hub. Geometry neighbors: lend · leihen · lend · prestar · rent · louer · sell · vendre · payGIVE · payer. Index 2 French Transfer cites échanger, donner — not prêter.
Working paper.
French micro-entry. The TLFi entries for prêter and emprunter were read, with Larousse, Le Robert, and the Académie française, 9e édition. The Recipient of prêter is a low ApplHAVE argument, a working claim shared with pay and give on this site, and it is revisable. The Académie present table is the conjugation cited. No page number and no sentence from a conjugation manual is quoted.
Constructed examples.
Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Pat prête le livre à Marie, Pat le lui prête, à intérêt stacked with a named Recipient, and the emprunter clauses with Pat are marked constructed. The bare Recipient is starred because the printed goal is à qqn. lui le is starred because the third-person order is le lui.
Arity.
Index 2 does not list prêter. Surface count can name a lender, a recipient, a theme, a time expression, and a rate. The lexicon does not list five co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds the Lender. Low ApplHAVE adds the Recipient. The root takes the Theme. le lui orders two clitics of those places. à intérêt takes one rate phrase when a rate is written. A time expression is not filed as a further sister. emprunter is not a second numeration of prêter.
What this page does not do.
The converse page is borrow · emprunter. It does not open an English page of lend. prêter attention and prêter serment stop at the locutions. The ascribe sense stops at the citation. The German frames stay on leihen. The Spanish frames stay on prestar.
Hierarchy
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 one à that means the same role on both lemmas. prêter shows one direct object, the Theme, and a Recipient in the dative, à or lui/leur, with le before lui.
l’argent = one object. See the MeasureP sketch. à intérêt is the rate phrase beside that object. It is not a second object. à intérêts in the TLFi is the same phrase with the noun in the plural. sur gage is collateral.
What French shows, against the English gloss and against German and Spanish, is where the direction lives, and what à marks. English uses lend or borrow, and from is separative. German uses two frames of leihen, and a separate verleihen, with von or bei for the source. Spanish uses prestar for the lender and a periphrasis for the borrower. French uses prêter for the lender and emprunter for the borrower, and the à-phrase is the Recipient on the first and the Source on the second.
Geometry · prêter beside the live roots
In the constructed Pat prête le livre à Marie, Marie comes to HAVE the book. The definitions name a limited stretch of use. This page quotes that wording and does not add an aspect label.
English lend and borrow. Two verbs. Lend takes the lender as subject and a bare Recipient or to. Borrow takes the borrower as subject and separative from for the source. No English page is opened. The gloss lend misses the French converse lemma, and the gloss borrow misses that the French source preposition is à.
leihen. Both directions on one lemma. The lend frame is a dative Recipient and an accusative Theme. The borrow frame is a reflexive dative co-indexed with the subject, and the source in von or bei. verleihen is noted there and is not a page. French does not copy that split onto prêter. The source prepositions are not à.
prestar. One lender-side verb. The Recipient is a dative doubled by le. The borrow side is pedir prestado or tomar prestado, and the participle agrees with the Theme. French has a converse lemma instead of that periphrasis, and does not print the clitic doubled with à.
louer. Both directions on one lemma. The à-phrase does not choose lessor or lessee. prêter keeps the lender as subject. The borrower is emprunter, and à chooses the role.
vendre. The buyer is a dative, lui or à, the goods are the direct object, and pour is the Price. The sense of prêter read here is the temporary transfer, with return in the definition. On prêter, a printed pour-phrase is the stretch of time, not that Price.
payer. The direct object is the money. pour is Consideration. The Recipient is the same dative cloth, lui or à, printed as separate strings, and the low ApplHAVE drawing is the one this page shares, as a working claim. On prêter a money object is the Theme, and a written rate is à intérêt.
prêter attention, prêter serment, se prêter à. Larousse, Le Robert, the Académie, and the TLFi. Pay attention, take an oath, consent, or be suited to. Not the returnable-theme frame.
Open items
le lui and me le. The order is the general clitic order. The dictionaries print le with à, or lui / me with a full Theme, not the two clitics together. Plural leur is the same order (les leur) and is not given its own sentence here.
Doubling lui with à. Unprinted on prêter. Spanish le … a is the other cloth, on prestar. Not constructed as a filled frame, and not starred.
à and de on emprunter.à is the current loan construction in Larousse and the Académie. de of a person is vieilli there, and Larousse says it is no longer in use for “obtenir à titre de prêt.” emprunter de of a thing, in the sense “recevoir de, devoir à,” is marked soutenu and is not this loan frame. They are not ranked as two sources of one clause.
Participle agreement. Beauvoir’s empruntés agrees with les livres. France’s prêté is the form in avait prêté. No paradigm beyond those printed forms is quoted.
pour quelques heures and à intérêt in one clause. Each is printed. The combination is not a dictionary line. Argument versus adjunct for the time phrase is open.
à intérêt and à intérêts. Académie 9 prints the singular. The TLFi prints the plural, and sans intérêts. They are not ranked.
sur gage. Printed beside the rate lines. Collateral, not the rate, and not ranked against à intérêt.
Omission. Académie 9’s elliptical prêter à un ami drops a money Theme. Le Robert’s Elle ne prête pas ses livres drops the Recipient and keeps the books. The two omissions are printed. They are not ranked.
Ascribe prêter. Larousse sense 2 and the Académie figurative line. Not the returnable-theme frame, and not given the geometry of attribuer.
Passive of the Theme. Unprinted in the entries read. No sentence is constructed.
Corpus filenames and sources checked
Dictionary frames: TLFi prêter and emprunter; Larousse prêter and emprunter, including the Difficultés note; Le Robert prêter and emprunter; Académie française, 9e édition, prêter on the Académie site and emprunter as CNRTL gives that edition. Constructed clauses put the printed à qqn on a named Recipient, or the printed à of emprunter on a named Source, and they put the general clitic order on those places. The Académie present table is the conjugation cited. No conjugation manual is quoted. Index 2 does not list prêter. French Transfer in Index 2 is échanger, donner.
TLFi · prêtercnrtl.fr/definition/prêter · qqc. à qqn · antonym emprunter · Beauvoir je le prête à des amis · France pour quelques heures · à intérêts, sans intérêts · prêter attention · prêter serment
TLFi · empruntercnrtl.fr/definition/emprunter · à or vieilli de · France à la citoyenne Blaise · Beauvoir lui avais empruntés · Camus lui emprunter
Le Robert · prêterdictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/preter · prêt (s’oppose à emprunter) · Prêter de l’argent à qqn · Elle ne prête pas ses livres · Prêter attention · Prêter serment
Académie française, 9e édition · prêterdictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9P4232 · à quelqu’un · elliptical money · à intérêt · prêter serment · present je prête
Records the subject Lender, the direct-object Theme, and the dative Recipient (à or lui/leur), with le lui as clitic order. Records pour quelques heures and à intérêt as optional. Records emprunter as the converse lemma, with à as Source, against English separative from. Records prêter attention and prêter serment as separate senses. Records the direction split against German leihen / verleihen and Spanish prestar / pedir prestado.