Let,let’s

Let usis the first person plural imperative, which we only use in very formalsituations.Let’sis the short form, which we often use to make suggestions which include ourselves:

It’s midday.Let’sstop now and have some lunch, shall we?

Not:Lets stop now…

Okay. We’re all ready.Let’s go.

We also uselet me(the first person singular imperative) to give a direct, more formal suggestion or offer:

Let memove these books out of your way.

We useletfor third person imperatives and for impersonal imperatives:

Letthem walk home on their own.(third person)

Letthere be no doubt about it.(impersonal)

There are two negative forms oflet’s:let’s notanddon’t let’s.Let’s notis more common:

Let’s notargue about money. We can share the costs.

Don’t let’sthrow away the good books with the damaged ones. We can sell them.

We can use the full formslet us, let us notanddo not let usin very formal situations such as political documents and speeches, and religious and other ceremonies:

Let usremember all those who have died in this terrible conflict.

We must forgive, butlet us notforget, what happened on that day ten years ago.

Do not let usdeceive ourselves that our economic problems can be easily solved.

We useletwith a direct object meaning ‘rent something to someone’:

They’velettheir house for the whole summer.