Helpful hints from work – #18
March 31, 2010
(This is the latest in a series of tips I write for work. My boss wrote a few tips for the company blog at the start of the year, so the delay between tips 17 and 18 here is from waiting my turn to come up with and share new material.)
Today’s tip: confusion with “lead”
English can be confusing when words have different pronunciations for the same spelling. Today’s example looks at “lead.”
Lead (sounds like led) = a noun meaning the element that is found in pencils and can be harmful in certain substances.
Example: “Happy Fun Metallic Bear was recently recalled after consumer safety groups found that the toy had high levels of lead.”
To lead (sounds like leed) = a verb meaning to guide something or direct operations.
Present tense: “Bob, lead Milton to my office. I need to tell him that if he could move his desk to the basement, that’d be great.”
The past tense of “to lead” is “led.”
Past tense: “After they led him to the basement, Milton threatened to burn down the building, but no one heard because he was mumbling.”
