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Usenet Posted 18 years ago
Usage
Led vs. lead
Posted for Kevin
I would like to ask a question about English
In the following sentence,
Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house.
my question is "led', can I use "leads" instead?
why should it be "led"?
for the purpose to agree with "hunted"?
with thanks.
kevin
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I would like to ask a question about English
In the following sentence,
Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house.
my question is "led', can I use "leads" instead?
why should it be "led"?
for the purpose to agree with "hunted"?
with thanks.
kevin
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
Top answer
[nq:1]Posted for Kevin I would like to ask a question about English In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. [/nq] In this sentence I think "leads" is more appropriate, as the sentence is referring to a permanent state, not just one that existed at the moment of the hunting. However, if you had "the road" instead of "a road", then "led" might be better, because then you'd be referring to what was true at a particular moment.
- [nq:1]Posted for Kevin I would like to ask a question about English In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house.
- [/nq] In this sentence I think "leads" is more appropriate, as the sentence is referring to a permanent state, not just one that existed at the moment of the hunting.
- However, if you had "the road" instead of "a road", then "led" might be better, because then you'd be referring to what was true at a particular moment.
- [/nq] No athel (BrE)
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42 Answers
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[nq:1]Posted for Kevin I would like to ask a question about English In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. my question is "led', can I use "leads" instead?[/nq]
Yes
[nq:1]why should it be "led"?[/nq]
In this sentence I think "leads" is more appropriate, as the sentence is referring to a permanent state, not just one that existed at the moment of the
Yes
[nq:1]why should it be "led"?[/nq]
In this sentence I think "leads" is more appropriate, as the sentence is referring to a permanent state, not just one that existed at the moment of the
00
[nq:1]Posted for Kevin I would like to ask a question about English In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. my question is "led', can I use "leads" instead?[/nq]
Yes, if John hasn't moved.
[nq:1]why should it be "led"? for the purpose to agree with "hunted"?[/nq]
Yes.
Adrian
Yes, if John hasn't moved.
[nq:1]why should it be "led"? for the purpose to agree with "hunted"?[/nq]
Yes.
Adrian
00
[nq:1]In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. my question is "led', can I use "leads" instead? why should it be "led"? for the purpose to agree with "hunted"?[/nq]
In this case LED is in the past tense because
HUNTED is in the past tense.
As is normal in English, the same thing can be
expressed in various ways, e.g.
Tom hunted for a road leadi
In this case LED is in the past tense because
HUNTED is in the past tense.
As is normal in English, the same thing can be
expressed in various ways, e.g.
Tom hunted for a road leadi
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[nq:1]Posted for Kevin I would like to ask a question about English In the following sentence, Tom hunted for a ... "led', can I use "leads" instead? why should it be "led"? for the purpose to agree with "hunted"? with thanks.[/nq]
You can use "leads" if you also change "hunted" to "hunts". Tense agreement and all that.
You can use "leads" if you also change "hunted" to "hunts". Tense agreement and all that.
00
Interesting. My intuition is pretty much the opposite. With "the road", I get the image of their being a well-defined "road that leads to John's house", and Tom was trying to find it. With "a road", he just wanted some road that led there at the time. So I would go with
Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house.
Tom hunted for the road that leads to John's house.
The oth
Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house.
Tom hunted for the road that leads to John's house.
The oth
00
Precisely. 'Hunted' is past simple tense; 'led' is also past simple. 'Leads' is present simple and there is an incongruity in the sentence if one mixes the tenses.
You could say 'Tom was hunting for the road that leads to John's house' because that implies a PRESENT continuous or progressive aspect to his action.
Posted via a free Usenet account from
You could say 'Tom was hunting for the road that leads to John's house' because that implies a PRESENT continuous or progressive aspect to his action.
Posted via a free Usenet account from
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[nq:2]Yes In this sentence I think "leads" is more appropriate, ... be referring to what was true at a particular moment.[/nq]
[nq:1]Interesting. My intuition is pretty much the opposite. With "the road", I get the image of their being a well-defined ... Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. Tom hunted for the road that leads to John's house.[/nq]
I'll cast my lot with you.
[
[nq:1]Interesting. My intuition is pretty much the opposite. With "the road", I get the image of their being a well-defined ... Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house. Tom hunted for the road that leads to John's house.[/nq]
I'll cast my lot with you.
[
00
[nq:2]Yes, if John hasn't moved. Yes.[/nq]
[nq:1]Precisely. 'Hunted' is past simple tense; 'led' is also past simple. 'Leads' is present simple and there is an incongruity in the sentence if one mixes the tenses.[/nq]
But there are times it is correct to mix the tenses.
If the use was in a detective novel of 1932, I would expect "Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house." Ev
[nq:1]Precisely. 'Hunted' is past simple tense; 'led' is also past simple. 'Leads' is present simple and there is an incongruity in the sentence if one mixes the tenses.[/nq]
But there are times it is correct to mix the tenses.
If the use was in a detective novel of 1932, I would expect "Tom hunted for a road that led to John's house." Ev
00
[nq:2]Precisely. 'Hunted' is past simple tense; 'led' is also past ... an incongruity in the sentence if one mixes the tenses.[/nq]
[nq:1]But there are times it is correct to mix the tenses.[/nq]
I don't think so, although I can't think of an example at the moment. It's late and it's been a long day.
[nq:1]If the use was in a detective novel of 1932, I would expect "Tom hunted for a ro
[nq:1]But there are times it is correct to mix the tenses.[/nq]
I don't think so, although I can't think of an example at the moment. It's late and it's been a long day.
[nq:1]If the use was in a detective novel of 1932, I would expect "Tom hunted for a ro
00
[nq:2]But there are times it is correct to mix the tenses.[/nq]
[nq:1]I don't think so, although I can't think of an example at the moment. It's late and it's been a long day.[/nq]
It must have been a long day. What sort of example would show that there is no time when it is correct to mix tenses?
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
[nq:1]I don't think so, although I can't think of an example at the moment. It's late and it's been a long day.[/nq]
It must have been a long day. What sort of example would show that there is no time when it is correct to mix tenses?
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
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