Revised as of
15 Jan 2023
This one drives me mad! Almost no one remembers that there are two ways of interpreting let’s and let us! I’m always having to pop that apostrophe in between the t and the s when I’m editing.
People! It’s not that hard! Every time you use any contraction, take the contraction out. Try it in full. If you’re using let’s, does let us provide the same impression? If it does, yeah, leave that apostrophe in there!
If it doesn’t, well, whew, you caught it. Now take that apostrophe out and allow lets to stand on its own WITHOUT the apostrophe.
| On the One Hand . . . | . . . On the Other Hand |
|---|---|
| Let’s play . . .
Hey, why don’t we play a game/music/telly??? |
. . . lets . . . play
We allow John/Mary/Fido to play with us. |
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Let’s, a.k.a. Let Us | Lets |
|---|---|
Let’s Get Out of Here! by Dunk under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
Balder thru the Door by Anthony Van Wyck under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. — A dog door lets the dog out without any effort on your part. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Morpheme: let
Contraction Verb Third person present verb: lets us |
Morpheme: let
Noun 1 Verb 2, intransitive & transitive 1 Plural for the noun: lets Third person present verb: lets |
| Used as a polite way of making or responding to a suggestion, giving an instruction, or introducing a remark | Noun: [In racket sports] A play that is nullified and has to be played again, especially when a served ball touches the top of the net 1 Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive: Not prevent or forbid 2
Allow to pass in a particular direction Used in the imperative to formulate various expressions
Allow someone to have the use of a room or property in return for regular payments
Award a contract for a particular project to an applicant |
| Examples: | |
| Let’s have a drink.
“Shall we go?” “Yes, let’s.” Let’s party! Oh, yes! Let’s do it. |
Noun: A let will be given for any accidental hindrances. A double fault equals a let. Verb, intransitive: I’ll let you in on a secret. School lets out in May. Verb, transitive: You mustn’t let yourself get so involved. George lets the dog out for me. It’s a tiny window that lets in hardly any light. “Here, let me,” offered Bruce. “Dear God,” Jessica prayed, “let him be all right.” If he wants to walk out, well, let him! This lets A and B stand for X and Y, respectively. Homeowners will be able to let rooms to lodgers without having to pay tax. Shelly lets her apartment for a good rate. Preliminary contracts were let and tunneling work started. Pray you let us not; we fain would greet our mother. |
| Phrasal Verb | |
| let down let someone down let something down let oneself in for let someone in on let someone into let someone off let something off let on let out let someone out let something out let up |
|
| History of the Word: | |
The noun and the verb forms both come from an Indo-European root shared by late from the Latin lassus meaning weary.
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Let’s versus Lets
Apple Dictionary.com
Belleville High School
Pinterest Photo Credits:
I’m Not Saying Let’s Go Kill All the Stupid People is courtesy of WeKnowMemes, <http://weknowmemes.com/2012/05/im-not-saying-lets-go-kill-all-the-stupid-people/>.
