The Easy Explanation
“Lead” (rhymes with “bead” and “knead”) is a verb meaning to go before or be in front: Ms. Terry has been chosen to lead the parade this year.
“Led” (rhymes with “head”) is the past tense of “lead” (rhymes with “bead”): Mr. Smith led the parade last year.
The confusion comes in with the other word “lead,” which is the word for a type of metal and is pronounced the same as “led.” Lead, the metal, (rhymes with “bread”) and lead, as in to go before, (rhymes with “knead”), and they are related in spelling only. Words like this are called homographs. They have the same spelling but different meanings and different sounds.
When to Use Lead vs. Led
The word “lead” (rhymes with “knead”) is a verb that means to go before or be in front (as in lead the charge). The word “led” is the past tense of this kind of “lead” (as in Today I lead; yesterday I led.) The confusing part is another word with the same spelling—“lead” (rhymes with “bread”)—is pronounced the same as “led.”
The word “led” is always only the past tense of “lead” (rhymes with “knead”). It’s never more complicated than that and is never spelled any differently than l-e-d “led.”
Examples of Lead vs. Led
- The company leads the industry. (meaning to be in front)
- She led by example. (past tense of “lead” as in to be in front)
- The roof is made of lead. (meaning the metal)
How to Remember the Difference
To remember that “led” is the correct spelling for the past tense of “lead,” try to remember that “yesterday” is spelled with just an “e”—the same as “led.” Or you could try remembering the sentence: Yesterday he was led to bed.
Theory Into Practice: Which Is Which?
Is the underlined word correct? See if you can tell.
- He lead the team in fouls.
Wrong: This should be the past tense of “lead,” which is spelled “led.” - In high school, she led her debate team to a state championship.
Right: This is the correct spelling for the past tense of “lead.”