There are various difficulties in the way of studying or improving your language skills. And students should not be shy as it is a natural phenomenon. All misunderstandings need to be addressed in a timely manner. We will consider one of the most ambiguous moment that almost everyone faces. Therefore, we have prepared not only useful but also effective information to improve your English.
Led Versus Lead and What You Need to Know
The first thing to understand in order to reveal this topic is the phenomenon of homophones. Homophones are the words which pronunciation sounds the same, but with regard to spelling and semantic meaning, they are completely different.
Such words can cause a number of confusions and misunderstandings among non-native speakers. Moreover, due to continuous technological progress, the number of such words is increasing. But don’t upset, all you need is just to spend a little time and figure out the matter. We will help you to deal with the difference between led and lead.
The Key Difference Between Lead and Led
In fact, everything is very simple, since the main difference lies in the lead past tense.
For example:
- She leads her students to spiritual prosperity.
- This group of people leads a political campaign.
- She led her students to spiritual prosperity.
- This group of people led a political campaign.
Sentences from the first block describe actions that are currently taking place, and sentences from the second block are in the past tense. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the past tense of lead is pronounced similar to lead, a toxic and soft metal in meaning.
The Common Mistake When Using Led or Lead
The most common failure occurs with the Past Indefinite Tense when the word led is used as the lead.
- Mary leads her scholars to the path of truth.
In this case, the use of this word is incorrect in the Past Indefinite Tense (but is correct in the Present Simple).
- Mary led her scholars to the path of truth.
Notice, that this is the right use of this word. In order to fully understand this issue, you need to summon up that led is the correct form of the past tense of lead.
Led vs Lead: The Main Features
Let’s see exactly what led means. As we have said before, this is the past form of the word lead. The semantic meanings of led to or lead to are to direct, to pass, to drive or bring earlier. So, another word for led is to direct. Here are some examples to dive into the matter:
- She had led children to the cinema.
- Parliament led the population out of difficult financial condition.
- Firefighters led the victims from the blazing fire.
- The doctor led Paulo out of a dangerous state of health.
- The country has led its troops on the borders.
As for lead, this word can appear in the form of a noun, a verb, an adjective.
Adjective example: Thomas is a lead specialist in this company.
Noun example: After the first half, the Canadian hockey team took the lead.
Verb example: Will you lead a discussion if you know that opponents disagree with your opinion?
Also, another word for lead refers to the metal element from the periodic system.
For example:
- This vehicle only accepts unleaded gas.
- Lola broke the lead in each of her pencils.
- The arrows must know the speed of the lead bullet.
Surely you have already seen that in fact, it is not as difficult as it seemed! You are also welcome to see this video in order to listen to a native speaker and his explanations of this question.