Learn English – Cause To, Lead To

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I have a question about the usages of the verb "lead". According to web usages, one sense of the verb "lead" is similar to the verb "cause". So that the following two sentences:

  1. The recession caused some investors to back off on buying stocks.
  2. The recession led some investors to back off on buying stocks.

, mean the same thing.

Does that mean the following:

  1. Erosion caused the building to collapse.
  2. Erosion led the building to collapse.

are also the same? I do feel that sentence 4, which uses "led", is a little bit off compared to sentence 3, which uses "cause". What do native speakers think?

Best Answer

There is a subtle difference between "caused" and that version of "lead/led". The first is a direct result:

The driver caused the accident.

The second may not be as direct - it is on the path to the final outcome, but not the only cause:

Because he didn't check the tyres, it led to the accident when he drove in the rain.

In the second version, he may not have had an accident even though the tyres were bad. But put all the circumstances together, and it led to the accident.

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