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What’s the Past Tense of Lend? Lent, Lend or Lended?

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Elan Yash

Elan is head of design and tech. He's also a contributor at Grammarflex.

“Lend” vs. “lent”

The past tense of lend is lent. Lent is the only past tense form of the present tense verb, lend. Lended is not an official word, and now you can avoid using it.

That being said, should you hear lended in conversation, it’s your decision whether to correct them—though, most people don’t appreciate being corrected in their grammar (even if they are demonstrably wrong).

Once you’ve read up on lent and all the ways it can be employed, you’ll be well-equipped to lend yourself to a nice grammar lesson! (Or you may keep the information to yourself, lest your lesson lend itself to hurt feelings.)

👍🏼Usage Note
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My brother lent me his bicycle for the afternoon.
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She lended me her notes from the lecture.

Forms of “lend”

The verb lend is defined in the dictionary as “to give for temporary use on condition that the same or its equivalent be returned,” or “to be put at another’s temporary disposal.” See the verb lend in action in sentences:

Present Past Future
simple I lend I lent I will lend
continuous I am lending I was lending I will be lending
perfect I have lent I had lent I will have lent
perfect continuous I have been lending I had been lending I will have been lending
Tenses of ‘lend’.

What’s the past tense of lend? Lended, lend or lent?

The past tense of lend is lent—not lended. Because lend is an irregular verb, its past tense form does not end in “-ed”. Like the simple past tense form, the past participle form of lend is also lent. As a past participle, lent may be used in a number of ways: as an adjective, in a participle phrase, or with an auxiliary verb to form the past perfect tense.

A participle phrase acts like an adjective, only with a few more words. It is a sentence that contains a participle and serves to describe a noun. The past perfect tense describes the order in which events took place in the past. To form the past perfect of lend, pair the past participle form lent with an auxiliary verb, such as had: ‘she had lent me the money the moment I requested it.’

Lend/Lent in sentence examples

Word Form Examples
Present Tense (“lend”)

Don’t worry, I’ll lend you my gloves.

We lend our driveway to concert-goers when the parking lot is full.

He thinks lending money is a bad idea.
Past Tense (“lent”)

I lent you my stand mixer.

He lent me the keys to his truck.

They lent her a pair of skates.
Past Participle (“lent”)

I had lent you my umbrella that day, so I was drenched by the time I got home.

Just a few days after he had lent me his truck, it was totaled.
Adjective Usage (“lent” as an adjective)

She had to be careful— she didn’t want to dirty her lent sneakers.
Examples of “lend” usage in various forms.
💡Study Tip

That the past tense of “lend” is “lent,” associate “lent” with the past tense of “spend”—both end in “-ent” and describe giving something away.

Synonyms of “lend”/“lent”

  • loan
  • advance
  • supply
  • grant
  • impart

Origin of the verb lend

Of Germanic Origin
late 14c., from past tense of Old English lænan “to grant temporarily, lease out, make loans, lend money at interest,” from Proto-Germanic laihwnjan, verb derived from loikw-nes-, the prehistoric source of Old English læn “gift” (see loan (n.))
Etymology of “lend” (verb).

Worksheet

Question 1 of 10

What is the correct simple past tense of the verb “lend”?



Which form of “lend” is used as the past participle?



Why is “lended” considered incorrect as the past tense or past participle?



In the sentence, “I have lent him the money before the offer closed,” what tense is “lent” used to form?



Which sentence uses the past tense or past participle of “lend” correctly?



I our ladder to the neighbours last week.



We have our textbooks to several classmates this semester.



The bank wouldn’t us the money for the project.



By the time I asked, he had already his tools to someone else.



I the book to her yesterday, so she should have it now.





FAQs

What is the past tense of lend?
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The verb ‘lean’ accepts both ‘leaned’ and ‘leant’ as its past tense and past participial forms. Both are considered valid options according to the post.

Are both leaned and leant correct?
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Yes, according to the post, ‘lean’ accepts both ‘leaned’ and ‘leant’ as its past tense and past participial forms. Both are correct for simple past and past.

Is lean a regular or irregular verb?
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‘Lean’ is both. It accepts ‘leaned’ which is regular (-ed) and ‘leant’ which is irregular (-t). It accepts both forms for its past tense and past participle.

Give examples of leaned or leant.
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Examples from the post include “He leaned against the wall” for the simple past and “The old ladder had leant there untouched for years” using ‘leant’ as a valid past participle.

Why should I be consistent in using lean?
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The post suggests it’s best to stay consistent in writing. If you choose ‘leaned’ or ‘leant’ as your past form, it is recommended to stick to that choice throughout.

Yash, D. "What’s the Past Tense of Lean? Leaned or Leant?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/leaned-or-leant-whats-the-past-tense-of-lean/.

Sources

  1. Merriam-Webster, definition of lean.
  2. Etymonline, origin of lean.
  3. Cambridge Dictionary, definition of lean.
  4. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, definition of lean.
  5. “Lean.” Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. 2015. Farlex, Inc 3 Nov. 2023 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lean

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