The opposite of 'owe'?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Mehrgan

Key Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
Iran
Hi all,

May I know if there's any verb opposite of 'owe'? (Or, how would you fill the blank below?)

You owe me a lot of money. = I _________ you a lot of money.
 

Nicklexoxo

Member
Joined
May 18, 2013
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
Hello.
I am not a native speaker.

I would say "lend deposit"

You owe me a lot of money = I lend deposite you a lot of money.

Maybe it sounds unnatural or it's wrong, I just want to help.
Nickle.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Hi all,

May I know if there's any verb opposite of 'owe'? (Or, how would you fill the blank below?)

You owe me a lot of money. = I _________ you a lot of money.

In that one single blank, I would use "lent". But there are many other ways that a person can incur a debt.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Hello.
I am not a native speaker.

I would say "lend deposit"

You owe me a lot of money = I lend deposite you a lot of money.

Maybe it sounds unnatural or it's wrong, I just want to help.
Nickle.

"I lend deposit you a lot of money" is not correct.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Hello.
I am not a native speaker.

I would say "lend deposit"​.

You owe me a lot of money = I lend [strike]deposite[/strike] you a lot of money.

Maybe it sounds unnatural or it's wrong, I just want to help.
Nickle.

Nicklexoxo, it's nice of you to try to help and you do at least put "I am not a native speaker" at the beginning of your posts. However, your recent suggestions have been entirely incorrect. Please concentrate on your own English before trying to help other people.
 

Mehrgan

Key Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
Iran
In that one single blank, I would use "lent". But there are many other ways that a person can incur a debt.


Thanks for the reply. How is this concept commonly expressed in both Formal and Informal contexts? Once you're saying this to a friend, and sometime you're writing to some office claiming that, say a company owes you this much money. I would really appreciate it if you could help me with this.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
It depends on how the debt was built up.

If you lent your friend £10 a month ago, then she still owes you £10.
If you overpaid a company by £10 somehow, then they owe you £10.

In both cases, you are owed £10.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
It depends on how the debt was built up.

If you lent your friend £10 a month ago, then she still owes you £10.
If you overpaid a company by £10 somehow, then they owe you £10.

In both cases, you are owed £10.

I agree, and that's both formal and informal.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Hi all,

May I know if there's any verb opposite of 'owe'? (Or, how would you fill the blank below?)

You owe me a lot of money. = I _________ you a lot of money.
I'm not sure there's an actual antonym. But you can make it passive.
"The company owes me a lot of money" = "I am owed a lot of money by the company."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top