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Mr. Tom Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
He leads like a goat.
Hi
Could you please tell me what leads means in this sentence?
In a movie, the heroine leads (walks) the blind hero holding the chains that bind him . One among the audience says:
HE LEADS LIKE A GOAT.
I don't understand this sentence.
Thanks,
Tom
Could you please tell me what leads means in this sentence?
In a movie, the heroine leads (walks) the blind hero holding the chains that bind him . One among the audience says:
HE LEADS LIKE A GOAT.
I don't understand this sentence.
Thanks,
Tom
Top answer
'Lead' here is being used in a 'passive' sense (There's a grammar word for this kind of verb. ) The idea is that when he is led by her, his actions are like those of a goat being led. Never having led a goat myself, I don't know whether he is easily led or led with difficulty.
- 'Lead' here is being used in a 'passive' sense (There's a grammar word for this kind of verb.
- ) The idea is that when he is led by her, his actions are like those of a goat being led.
- Never having led a goat myself, I don't know whether he is easily led or led with difficulty.
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3 Answers
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'Lead' here is being used in a 'passive' sense (There's a grammar word for this kind of verb. which I have forgotten for the moment, but it is the same phenomenon as is seen in this sentence pair: the wind blows the trees / the trees blow in the wind.)
The idea is that when he is led by her, his actions are like those of a goat being led. Never having led a goat myself, I don't
The idea is that when he is led by her, his actions are like those of a goat being led. Never having led a goat myself, I don't
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Many thanks, MM!
...but could I request some more light on this? Why not:
He is (being) led like a goat? (I mean a direct passive)
Also, does "he leads like a goat" sound natural to you?
Tom
...but could I request some more light on this? Why not:
He is (being) led like a goat? (I mean a direct passive)
Also, does "he leads like a goat" sound natural to you?
Tom
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Hi Tom
To me, it's basically the same idea as the way "read" is used in this sentence:
Fitch was a colorful Frontier character whose autobiography reads like a book by James Fenimore Cooper as rewritten by Leonardo daVinci.
(I found that example in COCA.)
Clearly the autobiography doesn't actually do
To me, it's basically the same idea as the way "read" is used in this sentence:
Fitch was a colorful Frontier character whose autobiography reads like a book by James Fenimore Cooper as rewritten by Leonardo daVinci.
(I found that example in COCA.)
Clearly the autobiography doesn't actually do
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