led / lead> to generations of hatred

stephenlearner

Senior Member
Chinese
The war didn't only cause destruction and death but also led to generations of hatred between the two communities.

Should I use "led" or "lead" in the sentence?

Thanks.
 
  • lingobingo

    Senior Member
    English - England
    Led. It needs to be in the past tense. (But it’s worth noting that misspelling of the past tense and past participle of the verb lead is extremely common, no doubt because “lead” is pronounced the same way as “led” when it means the chemical element.)
     

    stephenlearner

    Senior Member
    Chinese
    Thanks.

    He doesn't only play the piano well, but also studies well.

    So likewise, I should I use studies, not study. Do you think so?
     

    Toby Sherman

    Senior Member
    American English
    It seems to me that you get thrown off a little by contractions of the compound tenses in "not only"[....]"but also" [....] sentences. The verb in your "not only " phrase is does study, which is the present emphatic tense. The present emphatic tense is a compound tense using the auxiliary verb "do" or "does". When you make a compound tense negative, it is more natural to put the auxiliary verb before the "not", but it is still part of the whole compound verb -- in this case, "does study." The present emphatic and the simple present have basically the same meaning. You could have used the simple present in the first part of the sentence:
    He not only plays the piano well, but also studies well.
     
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