The past continuous tense is formed by the verb 'be' followed by the affix or ending of -ing. The past perfect tense is formed for regular verbs (ending in -ed, -d, or -t) by adding 'had' followed by the verb. For example, when 'dream' turns into 'dreamt.' Some verbs use a -t variation where they end in a -t. The simple past tense form is created by adding a -ed or -d affix to the root word of the verb. The general grammar rules that govern past tenses are as follows. The past tense (past participle) form of “lead” is “leaded.” The infinitive of the word form is “lead.” The present participle form is “leading.” The past tense form is “leaded” and past participle form is “leaded.” Understanding verb tenses For example, referencing “lead” in the present participle form will change it to “leading,” but in the infinitive form, will be “lead.” What is the past tense of the word 'lead' However, as long as you keep in mind that the verb ‘lead’ is always spelled ‘led’ in the past tense, you should be able to avoid mistakes.What is the past tense of “lead?” Most commonly, the past tense of the word “lead” is “leaded.” Although the word form will change based on its participle. The main problem is that ‘lead’ (the metal) and ‘led’ (the past tense verb) sound the same. (Photo: tec_estromberg/flickr) Lead or Led? In all of these cases, ‘led’ is pronounced to rhyme with ‘red’ and ‘bed’. I had led a quiet life until that fateful day…

For example, if we were to rephrase some of the examples above, we could say: ‘Led’ is the past tense (or past participle) of the verb ‘lead’ in all cases. (Photo: B3R3N1C3) Led (Past Tense of ‘Lead’) In these last two cases, ‘lead’ rhymes with ‘red’ and ‘bed’. The graphite in a pencil is known as ‘lead’ as well (this is because people originally thought graphite was a form of black lead). However, an unrelated noun use of ‘lead’ refers to a heavy, soft metal: The computer was missing its lead, so she couldn’t plug it in. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! They needed to walk the dog, but they couldn’t find his lead.įurthermore, ‘lead’ is also a term for an electrical wire or cable: The detective solved the case after following several promising leads. Likewise, something that guides, controls or influences something can be described as a ‘lead’:

A winning position in a race or competition, for example, is a ‘lead’: Some of the above definitions of ‘lead’ have noun forms, too (also pronounced to rhyme with ‘feed’). (Photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich/wikimedia) Lead as a Noun (Winning Positions, Cables and Metal) Other rhymes include ‘Swede’ and ‘tweed’, which gives us an excuse to post this photo of Swedes in tweed. We were leading by two goals at half time.ĭespite the variation, ‘lead’ is always pronounced to rhyme with ‘feed’ when used as a verb. Sometimes, the verb ‘lead’ can also mean ‘occupy a winning position’ or ‘live’: For example, we could say:Ĭurrent emissions will lead to increased global warming. We can group some of these under the category of guiding, influencing or showing the way to something. But if you follow our ‘lead’ in this blog post, you should feel confident about avoiding errors in the future! Lead as a Verb (Guidance, Control and Winning) The various definitions of ‘lead’ mean it’s easy to make mistakes. However, this second ‘lead’ isn’t pronounced the same way as the first ‘lead’. ‘Lead’ sounds exactly the same as ‘led’, which is the past tense of ‘lead’.

Lead past tense