[Vampyr]

From BT Yahoo Movie blog:

Quote

This part of the speech lead many to speculate she had just announced her retirement

This is the second time I have seen this sort of thing in mass media in recent weeks. The writers must have learnt their English on these forums!

[gwnn]

What a bunch of loosers.

[billw55]

The second time in weeks? You must not read yahoo stories much. They frequently have spelling or grammar errors and I routinely find several per day.

[Fluffy]

I don't see the mistake

BTW I remind all posters that they are wellcome to send me PMs pointing out grammar and spelling mistakes, I make a lot of typing mistakes also, but there is no need to PM me about them.

[Trinidad]

The small difference, of course, is that those are professional writers, writing in their native language. We are a bunch of amateurs with many of us writing in our second (or third) language. There can only be one conclusion. They must be correct.

Rik

[Vampyr]

Trinidad, on 2013-January-14, 08:14, said:

The small difference, of course, is that those are professional writers, writing in their native language. We are a bunch of amateurs with many of us writing in our second (or third) language. There can only be one conclusion. They must be correct.

Well, quite. That is why non-native English speakers are doomed to learning incorrect spelling and grammar.

[Vampyr]

Fluffy, on 2013-January-14, 08:12, said:

I don't see the mistake

The word "lead" was substituted for "led".

This error is particularly disconcerting to me as a reader, since the pronunciation is different; it sort of stops me in my tracks.

[Vampyr]

billw55, on 2013-January-14, 07:55, said:

The second time in weeks? You must not read yahoo stories much. They frequently have spelling or grammar errors and I routinely find several per day.

It was the second time in weeks I saw this error.

[barmar]

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 08:52, said:

It was the second time in weeks I saw this error.

"this sort of thing" implies a more general class of errors, not just this particular one. Don't make wording errors when you're complaining about someone else's writing.

[Vampyr]

barmar, on 2013-January-14, 08:58, said:

"this sort of thing" implies a more general class of errors, not just this particular one. Don't make wording errors when you're complaining about someone else's writing.

Yes, you are right. Of course I meant the substitution of "lead" for "led"; I do not know why I phrased it in such a general way.

[WellSpyder]

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 08:50, said:

The word "lead" was substituted for "led".

This error is particularly disconcerting to me as a reader, since the pronunciation is different; it sort of stops me in my tracks.

The pronunciation depends on the context, of course. The metal "lead" is indeed pronouced in the same way as the past participle "led", and I think this is the reason why it is so common to see the present tense of the verb "lead" incorrectly used in place of "led".

[Trinidad]

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 08:45, said:

Well, quite. That is why non-native English speakers are doomed to learning incorrect spelling and grammar.

One slight problem for non-native speakers is that the native speakers can't even agree on spelling or grammar.

Rik

[barmar]

WellSpyder, on 2013-January-14, 09:46, said:

The pronunciation depends on the context, of course. The metal "lead" is indeed pronouced in the same way as the past participle "led", and I think this is the reason why it is so common to see the present tense of the verb "lead" incorrectly used in place of "led".

It may also be related to the more common word "read". Its past tense is pronounced "red", but it's spelled "read", just like the present tense. This formation may bleed over in the mind to "lead".

[Vampyr]

WellSpyder, on 2013-January-14, 09:46, said:

The pronunciation depends on the context, of course. The metal "lead" is indeed pronouced in the same way as the past participle "led", and I think this is the reason why it is so common to see the present tense of the verb "lead" incorrectly used in place of "led".

barmar, on 2013-January-14, 10:29, said:

It may also be related to the more common word "read". Its past tense is pronounced "red", but it's spelled "read", just like the present tense. This formation may bleed over in the mind to "lead".

But how curious that a (native English-speaking) person could have heard of lead or any other element without having attended school... no, it's probably more that teaching spelling and grammar is no longer considered important, because it takes time away from teaching things like "empowerment" and "self-actualisation".

Trinidad, on 2013-January-14, 09:49, said:

One slight problem for non-native speakers is that the native speakers can't even agree on spelling or grammar.

That's not true. There is a right way and there are wrong ways. Unfortunately, sources like newspapers, which non-native speakers would tend to trust, do not always use the right way.

[Cyberyeti]

Trinidad, on 2013-January-14, 09:49, said:

One slight problem for non-native speakers is that the native speakers can't even agree on spelling or grammar.

Rik

Many Brits know that if you want to get a higher quality of English spelling and grammar, you ask a Dutchman.

[Vampyr]

Cyberyeti, on 2013-January-14, 10:34, said:

Many Brits know that if you want to get a higher quality of English spelling and grammar, you ask a Dutchman.

Surely a Scandinavian!

[WellSpyder]

Trinidad, on 2013-January-14, 09:49, said:

One slight problem for non-native speakers is that the native speakers can't even agree on spelling or grammar.
Rik

Cyberyeti, on 2013-January-14, 10:34, said:

Many Brits know that if you want to get a higher quality of English spelling and grammar, you ask a Dutchman.

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 10:36, said:

Surely a Scandinavian!

Oh dear! We can't even agree on that.....

[cherdano]

Trinidad, on 2013-January-14, 09:49, said:

One slight problem for non-native speakers is that the native speakers can't even agree on spelling or grammar.

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 10:33, said:

That's not true. There is a right way and there are wrong ways.

BullshitRubbish! There are two flavours of spelling. And native-speakers can't even agree whether they use a cart or a trolley to bring the prescriptions for theird cold their menthol sweets and bags of herbal tea from the drugstorechemist across the parking lotcar park to their station wagonestate car.

[Vampyr]

cherdano, on 2013-January-14, 11:39, said:

BullshitRubbish! There are two flavours of spelling. And native-speakers can't even agree whether they use a cart or a trolley to bring the prescriptions for theird cold their menthol sweets and bags of herbal tea from the drugstorechemist across the parking lotcar park to their station wagonestate car.

Yes, that much is true.

[Bbradley62]

Vampyr, on 2013-January-14, 10:33, said:

But how curious that a (native English-speaking) person could have heard of lead or any other element without having attended school...

Every 5-year-old who has played CLUE knows about lead pipes :-)