Blast from the Past: Lead/Led

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the next installment of "Blast from the Past"! Today we'll be revisiting the difference between lead and led.



rigel_7's excellent article, over here, gives a more in-depth look at lead/led, so we'll just go through a quick refresher of the words.

The word lead can mean one of two things, depending on whether it's a noun or a verb. In its noun form, it refers to the soft, heavy metal:

Lirael thought the lead falcon paperweight on the Chief Librarian's desk strongly resembled its owner: they both had fierce, unblinking gray eyes.

The verb lead, pronounced as "leed," means to guide, escort, direct, or show the way. In its present tense, it's easy enough:

Once again, Prince Sameth would lead the Winterfair processional as the Bird of Dawning. He still didn't think he had the legs to carry off the costume's cross-gartered stockings.

The confusion often comes when we need to use the past tense of lead. People might make the mistake of writing something like the incorrect "Yesterday I lead the troops into battle" because of the similarity to "Yesterday I read two books," but the correct past tense in both American and global English—according to all of my handy grammar and style guides—is led:

The last time Sameth led the processional, he tripped several other dancers and was a laughingstock for the rest of the year.

So now that we've brushed up on the difference between lead and led, go forth and lead your characters through plots of extreme awesomeness! But whatever you do, don't let yourself (or your fics) be led astray by a cranky or uncooperative muse—that way lies much frustration and gnashing of teeth.

Sources:
Fowler's Modern English Usage by R.W. Burchfield
Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Ed. by Bryan A. Garner