Ditransitive Verbs – Is ‘He Borrowed Me Some Money’ Correct?

ditransitive-verbsindirect-objects

Can we use borrow as I have in the above sentence in a sense like;

He borrowed (from someone for) me some money.

I wonder if there was a better way of expressing the idea that I am meant to.

Clarification: borrow there is not mistakenly used instead of lend.

Best Answer

Yes, in the proper context, that is grammatical. It would mean that he borrowed money on your behalf. It is colloquial, not formal. The use of such 'ethical dative' constructions is regional.

I have to thank John for helping me get this business started. He borrowed me a sizable chunk of change from his venture-capitalist buddies.

P.S. I think from some of the comments below that a few visitors to the site are concerned that I've given you a bum steer, some bad advice. You're not using the word borrow as some uneducated speakers do who use it in a non-standard manner, as if it meant "lend". An example from Nelson Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm:

Frankie dealt ... skipping Sparrow, who professed to be too broke to play...
"Borrow me a dirty sawbuck, I wanna play too," he asked the players on either side of him, twice each.
Each time each answered, looking straight ahead at the dealer's eyeshade, "Never play against my own money."
"Then borrow me a dirty deuce."
Sparrow was always careful to identify any money he was able to borrow as dirty, suspecting that he thus reduced the obligation slightly.

Don't use it that way, or people will think you flunked out of school.

Neither a borrower nor a borrower be.
--Polonius

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