A Reminder About 'Led' and 'Lead'

 

Here's a reminder we could probably all use: the word "lead" is always trying to squeeze in where you want "led." In fact, almost any time you are talking about leading in the past tense, it's good to take note of your verbs.

Here's why "led" is so tricky. It's the past tense of the verb "lead," which rhymes with "read," but which happens to have a homograph that's a metal, "lead," which rhymes with "head." (If you are, at the moment, experiencing a rush of sympathy for people from other countries who are trying to learn English, you're not alone.)

So it's no surprise that one of the most common mistakes I see comes in sentences like, "The tour guide, a charming man named Raul, lead us through miles of rainforest."

Nope. That should be "led us through" because the past tense of the verb "lead" is "led": today I lead the meeting, yesterday I led the meeting.

I would estimate that writers -- native English speakers -- get this wrong close to half the time. And it's not because they don't know better. It's because this past tense form, which sounds like a noun that looks like its own root verb, is perfect for tripping you up.

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