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Grammatical rant
Jul. 18th, 2008 05:28 pmOkay, I've got to get this out of my system. I've seen it one too many times today, and it's gonna drive me nuts.
The past tense of the verb lead is LED, people.
Lead--pronounced with a short "e" sound, is a metal.
So if today Sam leads the way into the house, but Dean took the lead yesterday, Dean led the way.
Their bullets are usually silver or iron, not lead. Though the bullets for the Colt might have been lead. Lead is what cop bullets are made out of.
As in, "Eat lead," the scoundrel sneered.
Or lead poisoning.
Or a lead pipe.
Got it?
So, Sam led the way into the basement. Dean followed, careful not to trip over the lead pipe at the bottom of the stairs.
The next time I see lead used as the past tense of the verb, I think I'm gonna cry.
Or spork my eyes out.
One of the two.
Note: I know this misspelling does not make these authors bad people. It is the fact that spellcheck recognizes lead as a real word that this gets overlooked. And of course first drafts and dashed off posts are riddled with errors, mine included.
But this is in finished stories, folks. Please, please, PLEASE, proofread your own work. And then have someone else proofread it. And then put it aside and proofread it again later. Computers cannot replace the nuance of the human brain.
The past tense of the verb lead is LED, people.
Lead--pronounced with a short "e" sound, is a metal.
So if today Sam leads the way into the house, but Dean took the lead yesterday, Dean led the way.
Their bullets are usually silver or iron, not lead. Though the bullets for the Colt might have been lead. Lead is what cop bullets are made out of.
As in, "Eat lead," the scoundrel sneered.
Or lead poisoning.
Or a lead pipe.
Got it?
So, Sam led the way into the basement. Dean followed, careful not to trip over the lead pipe at the bottom of the stairs.
The next time I see lead used as the past tense of the verb, I think I'm gonna cry.
Or spork my eyes out.
One of the two.
Note: I know this misspelling does not make these authors bad people. It is the fact that spellcheck recognizes lead as a real word that this gets overlooked. And of course first drafts and dashed off posts are riddled with errors, mine included.
But this is in finished stories, folks. Please, please, PLEASE, proofread your own work. And then have someone else proofread it. And then put it aside and proofread it again later. Computers cannot replace the nuance of the human brain.
