Get the Lead Out! (led and lead)

The word "lead," when pronounced like "feed," can be a noun, as in a dog's lead,
a lead in a play, a lead to solving a mystery, etc. In this post we'll concentrate on "lead" as a verb.

The verb "to lead" has these principal parts:
            (Today I) LEAD         (Yesterday I) LED            (Many times I have) LED
The past forms of "lead,"which remove the "a," are confused with the past forms of "read," which rhyme with "led" but keep the "a," as in:
           (Today I) READ         (Yesterday I) READ          (Many times I have) READ


Most of the confusion about the verb "to lead" comes from the fact that the past form has the same sound as the noun "lead" which names an element and rhymes with "bread." Sometimes the noun is erroneously substituted for the verb.

Perhaps these sentences will help you remember each word:
                FRED LED the SLED dogs to the SHED.
               They DREAD finding LEAD in the paint that was SPREAD on the wall.

These sentences use both words correctly:
                The new law LED to a drop in LEAD poisoning.
                In Browning, Montana, the factory that produced LEAD pencils LED
                    all other industries in employing the Blackfeet.


Just remember that the noun "lead' is a metal, and there is an "a" in "metal." The past form of the verb "to lead" has no "a."