# Pled, pleaded, I'm pleading for answers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856 "2004-10-12T19:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/1 "2004-10-12T19:20:18Z")
[Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pled) lists both “pled” and “pleaded” as acceptable conjugations of the verb plead. But it seems like virtually all newspaper articles I see use the phrase “pleaded guilty” and not “pled guilty.” Is one of these words considered stylistically or grammatically superior to the other? Or are they truly interchangable? FWIW, Google lists [287,000 hits](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22pleaded+guilty%22) for the exact phrase “pleaded guilty,” and only [102,000 hits](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22pled+guilty%22) for “pled guilty,” so it certainly seems the former is more prevalent. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/2 "2004-10-12T19:40:04Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > Is one of these words considered stylistically or grammatically superior to the other? Stylistically? That depends upon whose style manual one is obliged to follow. Grammatically? They are indeed equivalent and interchangeable, just like leaped/leapt/lept or dreamed/dreamt. ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/3 "2004-10-12T19:50:11Z")
The U.S. Supreme Court uses the terms interchangeably as far as I can tell. I prefer to use ‘pled’ myself, ‘pleaded’ just sounds wrong in some instances. I think it’s because ‘pleadings’ are legal documents, and I see pleadings as having been pled, rather than pleadings having been pleaded. But that’s me. I’m not aware of a rule on the subject. The partner down the hall, a better legal writer than myself, prefers ‘pleaded’ but doesn’t know of a rule either. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/4 "2004-10-12T21:33:20Z")
The American usage guides on my bookshelf insist that pled and pleaded are equally correct in American English but in standard British English, only pleaded is correct. On the other hand, [The Columbia Journalism Review](http://www.cjr.org/tools/lc/pleadguilty.asp) prefers pleaded, as does the Bureau of Justice Statistics Style Guide, which I won’t link to because it’s a large PDF file, and all it says on the matter is > [@](#): > > **Spelling** > … > pleaded (not pled) > … As a rule, if the dictionary lists two or more forms, the first one listed is generally either the more common or the preferred form, depending on the dictionary. That rule doesn’t help you a whole lot if the two forms are equally correct though. When in doubt, I pick the first form listed. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/5 "2004-10-12T22:39:43Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pled) lists both “pled” and “pleaded” as acceptable conjugations of the verb plead. But it seems like virtually all newspaper articles I see use the phrase “pleaded guilty” and not “pled guilty.” Is one of these words considered stylistically or grammatically superior to the other? Or are they truly interchangable? > > FWIW, Google lists [287,000 hits](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22pleaded+guilty%22) for the exact phrase “pleaded guilty,” and only [102,000 hits](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22pled+guilty%22) for “pled guilty,” so it certainly seems the former is more prevalent. The regular version is usually used instead of the irregular ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/6 "2004-10-13T15:10:15Z")
Thanks **bibliophage**. If I ever move to London and become a barrister I will be sure to use ‘pleaded’ and save myself embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pled-pleaded-im-pleading-for-answers/268856/7 "2004-10-13T19:22:52Z")
The Associated Press style book prefers “pleaded.” That’s probably why you seldom see “pled” in American newspapers.