# The past tense of Lead is Led
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 29, 2019, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700 "2019-05-29T08:13:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/1 "2019-05-29T08:13:43Z")
Minor rant, but I’ve been seeing this more and more here on the dope and it drives me up a wall.
I just now did a post search covering all forums for the word “lead” just to get an idea of the frequency of the mistake. Here are the mistakes I found in just the past week, in order of most recent first:
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21667690&highlight=lead#postcount=311)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21667418&highlight=lead#postcount=136) / [ALSO WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21667389&highlight=lead#postcount=130) (same thread and poster, so only one example, really)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21665757&highlight=lead#postcount=91)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21663618&highlight=lead#postcount=1343)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21662631&highlight=lead#postcount=120)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21658048&highlight=lead#postcount=1)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21656585&highlight=lead#postcount=548) \<== possibly not past tense, but if so, pluralization is wrong
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21657491&highlight=lead#postcount=229)
[WRONG!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21656604&highlight=lead#postcount=89)
Stop being wrong on the internet!
---
### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/2 "2019-05-29T10:00:54Z")
And then once that’s sorted out, maybe we can deal with people who insist on calling those things that stop your car “breaks”.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/3 "2019-05-29T10:16:09Z")
They’re their, don’t loose you’re cool over this.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/4 "2019-05-29T11:11:55Z")
Remamber when Mike Love from the Beach Boys went on that drunken rant where he criticized lots of popular artists, then when Bob Dylan spoke later he said: “I’d like to thank Mike Love for not mentioning me.”?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/5 "2019-05-29T11:18:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> They’re their, don’t loose you’re cool over this.
_raises wiffle bat_
_make threatening jester_
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/6 "2019-05-29T11:35:47Z")
**Ellis Dee**
I liked your post better then most others, it was so much more impactful. And quite unique, per say.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/7 "2019-05-29T12:15:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> They’re their, don’t loose you’re cool over this.
Like a led balloon.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/8 "2019-05-29T13:51:03Z")
This thread lead me to create a new fumblerule of grammar.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/9 "2019-05-29T15:24:11Z")
I fully support this pitting. It peeves me, too.
It’s an understandable mistake. The past tense of “read” is pronounced “red” but it’s still spelled “read”; so it makes at least a little bit of sense that people would try to make “lead” work the same way. Plus there actually is a word (the metal) that’s pronounced “led” but spelled “lead” (unless you’re talking about “Led Zeppelin”).
So I can see why some people might be [del]lead[/del] led astray,
Still, if you’re a grown-up, and English is your first language, you really ought to be able to figure this out.
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/10 "2019-05-29T17:59:43Z")
I originally intended to list all uses of the past tense, both correct and incorrect, to get a feel for the frequency. Unfortunately the boards don’t let you search for 3-letter words.
Just now I tried a google search of the boards for “led” limiting the results to the past week. It only found three, one of which was part of a show title, but those results have to incomplete. They just have to be.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/11 "2019-05-29T18:08:21Z")
> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> Stop being wrong on the internet!
Internet should be capitalized.
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### Author:  [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/12 "2019-05-29T18:28:50Z")
Is it OK if I still call them buffalo?
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/13 "2019-05-29T19:27:08Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#):
>
> Internet should be capitalized.
Come join us in the present day, grandpa! The AP Stylebook stopped capitalizing “internet” years ago, much like nobody capitalizes “phonograph” anymore either.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/14 "2019-05-29T19:31:33Z")
> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> Come join us in the present day, grandpa! The AP Stylebook stopped capitalizing “internet” years ago, much like nobody capitalizes “phonograph” anymore either.
Sorry, I don’t turn to the AP Stylebook when I verify spellings.
Oxford Dictionary til I die, MFers!
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### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/15 "2019-05-29T19:49:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> Still, if you’re a grown-up, and English is your first language, you really ought to be able to figure this out.
Hey, maybe we should start using a real language and give up on this POS inconsistent garble you call a language!!
Or we could just fix English. HAHAHAHA…
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/16 "2019-05-29T19:57:39Z")
Yeah, let’s make it consistent, like all the other languages on Earth.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/17 "2019-05-29T20:02:59Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#):
>
> Internet should be capitalized.
As I recall from lo, these many years ago, it started out uncapitalized.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/18 "2019-05-29T20:05:59Z")
Is the Future Tense of _Light Emitting Diode_ “LEAD”?
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/19 "2019-05-29T20:07:15Z")
Wouldn’t the past tense of lead be some degenerate matter as lead (Pb) is generally formed from a supernova. Led is those efficient lights that everyone has now, so the past tense of led are incandescent.
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### Author:  [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-past-tense-of-lead-is-led/834700/20 "2019-05-29T20:53:42Z")
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> Wouldn’t the past tense of lead be some degenerate matter as lead (Pb) is generally formed from a supernova. Led is those efficient lights that everyone has now, so the past tense of led are incandescent.
I believe the past tense of Lead would be Polonium-210.
Others on par with Lead - Led:
Loose - Lose
Breathe - Breath
All are misuses that stop you mid-sentence where you have to sort out what you read with what you were supposed to read.
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