One Event Opens the Way to Another
In the target pattern, the subject names the cause, while lead to, result in, or give rise to introduces the result. We therefore read the direction from left to right: cause → verb link → result.
These constructions are useful when you need to do more than simply add a conjunction between two sentences: they make causation the predicate of one sentence. They do not prove causation by themselves; the writer must have grounds for making that connection.
cause + lead to / result in / give rise to + result
Clearer instructions led to fewer mistakes.
Clearer instructions led to fewer mistakes.
Clearer instructions is the cause, fewer mistakes is the result; the past form of lead is led.
The policy change resulted in longer waiting times.
The policy change resulted in longer waiting times.
Resulted in makes the policy change the cause and longer waiting the result.
To and in Are Prepositions Here
In lead to, the result is introduced by the preposition to, and in result in, by the preposition in. A noun phrase naturally follows them: delays, a reduction in costs, serious concern. Do not treat to in lead to as an automatic sign of an infinitive.
If we express the result as an action, an -ing construction is needed after the preposition, not a bare form or a to-infinitive: led to cancelling, resulted in the team working late. The subject inside the -ing construction may be explicit if the meaning would be unclear without it.
lead to / result in + noun phrase or -ing construction
- V-ing / -ing —
- The verb form ending in -ing: working, going. Its role depends on the construction.
- NP / noun phrase —
- A noun phrase: a noun with its dependent words, such as the new student; the pattern treats it as one group of words.
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
The fault led to the morning service being cancelled.
The fault led to the morning service being cancelled.
Being cancelled is a passive -ing construction after the preposition to; cancel or to cancel do not fit this pattern.
The delay resulted in two clients missing their connections.
The delay resulted in two clients missing their connections.
Two clients identifies the doers of the action missing inside the -ing construction.
The Verb Form Changes, the Preposition Remains
Lead, result, and give are ordinary verbs in terms of tense and agreement. In the Present Simple, we have leads, results, gives after a third-person singular subject; the past forms are led, resulted, gave; the perfect forms are has led, has resulted, has given rise.
The prepositional part of the construction does not change: lead always pairs with to in the target meaning, result with in, and the fixed expression has the full form give rise to.
leads / led / has led to; results / resulted / has resulted in; gives / gave / has given rise to
Poor signage leads to avoidable errors.
Poor signage leads to avoidable errors.
Signage is an uncountable singular noun, so leads is needed in the Present Simple.
The announcement has given rise to several questions.
The announcement has given rise to several questions.
In the Present Perfect, the fixed expression has the form has given rise to, not has gave.
How to Choose Among the Three Constructions
Lead to and result in are often interchangeable when simply stating a cause-and-effect relationship. Lead to can emphasize the path or development toward a result, while result in emphasizes the final outcome itself, but this is not a rigid grammar rule.
Give rise to is a more formal fixed expression and often introduces the emergence of a new state, question, concern, debate, or opportunity. It is usually followed by a noun phrase; do not add an arbitrary preposition like for or in.
lead to / result in — neutral causal link; give rise to — more formal, often about the emergence of something
The discovery gave rise to a wider debate about privacy.
The discovery gave rise to a wider debate about privacy.
Give rise to naturally describes the emergence of a formal public discussion.
Regular updates resulted in fewer support requests.
Regular updates resulted in fewer support requests.
Resulted in focuses attention on the measurable outcome of the changes.
Result in and result from Look in Opposite Directions
Result in moves from cause to effect: A resulted in B. Result from starts with the effect and names its source: B resulted from A. Both sentences can describe the same facts, but the subject and the direction of causality are different.
Replacing in with from is not a stylistic trifle. It changes the role of the subject, so first decide whether the subject is the cause or the result already obtained.
cause + resulted in + result ↔ result + resulted from + cause
A configuration error resulted in the outage.
A configuration error resulted in the outage.
The subject configuration error is the cause, so in is required.
The outage resulted from a configuration error.
The outage resulted from a configuration error.
Here the subject outage is the result, and from introduces the source.
A Separate Valid Pattern: lead someone to do
The claim that "an infinitive never follows lead to" is too broad. In the target intransitive pattern lead to + outcome, the word to is a preposition: The evidence led to a review. But there is another transitive pattern lead + object + to-infinitive: The evidence led us to review the decision.
The key sign of the second pattern is a direct object between lead and to: us, the team, several readers. Without such an object, do not place a bare action after lead to.
lead to + result; another pattern: lead + person / group + to + base form of verb
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
- V1 / base form —
- The base verb without to: work, go, be.
The evidence led to a review of the decision.
The evidence led to a review of the decision.
Review is a noun outcome after the preposition to.
The evidence led the panel to review the decision.
The evidence led the panel to review the decision.
The panel is the direct object; after it, to review is the infinitive of another pattern.
Precision of Causal Statements
Lead to, result in, and give rise to sound like assertions of causality. If evidence is incomplete, it is appropriate to soften the force of the conclusion: may lead to, can result in, appears to have given rise to. Do not invent a fixed percentage of certainty: a modal word expresses an assessment of context, not a numerical scale.
In your own speaking, first identify a real or hypothetical cause, then check the direction, verb form, preposition, and type of result. For formal writing, give rise to may be appropriate, but the simpler lead to or result in does not become incorrect merely due to register.
resulted in — assertion of result; may / can / could lead to — possible result
Incomplete data may lead to misleading conclusions.
Incomplete data may lead to misleading conclusions.
May does not declare the result inevitable, but preserves the causal pattern.
The wording appears to have given rise to some confusion.
The wording appears to have given rise to some confusion.
Appears to have softens the assertion about a past cause; the set phrase itself remains given rise to.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:The delay led to postpone the launch.
Correct:The delay led to postponing the launch.
In the target pattern, to is a preposition, so an action following it takes an -ing form; the noun a postponement is also possible.
Incorrect:The changes resulted to higher costs.
Correct:The changes resulted in higher costs.
The cause introduces the result via result in, not result to.
Incorrect:The rumour gave rise for serious concern.
Correct:The rumour gave rise to serious concern.
The set formal expression has the complete form give rise to.
Incorrect:Poor lighting lead to avoidable accidents.
Correct:Poor lighting leads to avoidable accidents.
The uncountable subject lighting requires the third-person singular form leads in the Present Simple.
Incorrect:The fault resulted in the system crashed.
Correct:The fault resulted in the system crashing.
After the preposition in, do not use the finite form crashed as a separate clause; an -ing construction is required here.