Use of "let"
I have a very nice and clear example that resolves this controversy..
*Read it carefully and try to understand... ððð*
John and Mary have been at a party for several hours. It is getting late, and Mary would like to leave. Mary says to John:
Let us go now.
If she wants to add a tag question, she would say:
Let us go now, shall we?
In Mary's use, the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "we": we should allow ourselves to go, and we should leave the party now.
When you use "let" this way, with "we" as the understood subject, you may also contract the "let us" to "let's".
The next day, Mary and John are in a shop. They are not interested in any of the merchandise, and want to leave, but the shopkeeper is determined to make a sale. The shopkeeper stands in their way, blocking the exit, and continues to try to show them different items. Mary is annoyed, and she says to the shopkeeper
Let us go now!
If she wants to add a tag question, she would say:
Let us go now, will you?
In this use, the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "you": You, shopkeeper, need to allow or permit us to go, and to leave the shop. When the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "you", rather than an understood "we" as in the previous example, it is necessary to emphasize the "us" as the object of the verb, and therefore you may not contract the "let us" to "let's".
Therefore, "let us go to play basketball, shall we?" and "let us go to play basketball, will you?" may both be correct -- but they do not mean the same thing! Here is how they might be used:
A group of boys is deciding what to do with their free time. One says to the others "Let us go to play basketball, shall we?" (The others might respond "Yes, that is a good idea", or "No, we are too tired now.")
Two brothers are asking their mother for permission to leave the house so that the boys may go and play basketball with their friends. The boys say "Let us go to play basketball, will you?", and the mother says "Yes, I shall let you go -- but you must be home in time for dinner."
Notice that the choice of the tag question has nothing to do with whether or not one uses "let's" instead of "let us"; instead, whether or not one may use "let's" instead of "let us" depends on who is the understood subject of the verb -- and thus, on which tag question is correct. Your middle school text has seems to have gotten this backwards.
Note that the natural and idiomatic way of saying the initial sentence without the tag question would be "Let's go play basketball", with "play" taking the form of a bare infinitive with no "to". Inserting the "to" there in ordinary conversation changes the meaning slightly, giving a stronger sense of an intention or purpose in the action:
We did not go just to play basketball, we went to make friends.
John goes to play basketball, but Mike goes to show off for the girls.
Stating the initial sentence as "let's go to play basketball" is certainly not incorrect --but it is less than fully natural.
I will also add that the use of a tag question "will you?" when you use the "let us" construction in asking someone else for permission to do something is not common, typical English.
*Read it carefully and try to understand... ððð*
John and Mary have been at a party for several hours. It is getting late, and Mary would like to leave. Mary says to John:
Let us go now.
If she wants to add a tag question, she would say:
Let us go now, shall we?
In Mary's use, the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "we": we should allow ourselves to go, and we should leave the party now.
When you use "let" this way, with "we" as the understood subject, you may also contract the "let us" to "let's".
The next day, Mary and John are in a shop. They are not interested in any of the merchandise, and want to leave, but the shopkeeper is determined to make a sale. The shopkeeper stands in their way, blocking the exit, and continues to try to show them different items. Mary is annoyed, and she says to the shopkeeper
Let us go now!
If she wants to add a tag question, she would say:
Let us go now, will you?
In this use, the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "you": You, shopkeeper, need to allow or permit us to go, and to leave the shop. When the subject of the verb "let" is an understood "you", rather than an understood "we" as in the previous example, it is necessary to emphasize the "us" as the object of the verb, and therefore you may not contract the "let us" to "let's".
Therefore, "let us go to play basketball, shall we?" and "let us go to play basketball, will you?" may both be correct -- but they do not mean the same thing! Here is how they might be used:
A group of boys is deciding what to do with their free time. One says to the others "Let us go to play basketball, shall we?" (The others might respond "Yes, that is a good idea", or "No, we are too tired now.")
Two brothers are asking their mother for permission to leave the house so that the boys may go and play basketball with their friends. The boys say "Let us go to play basketball, will you?", and the mother says "Yes, I shall let you go -- but you must be home in time for dinner."
Notice that the choice of the tag question has nothing to do with whether or not one uses "let's" instead of "let us"; instead, whether or not one may use "let's" instead of "let us" depends on who is the understood subject of the verb -- and thus, on which tag question is correct. Your middle school text has seems to have gotten this backwards.
Note that the natural and idiomatic way of saying the initial sentence without the tag question would be "Let's go play basketball", with "play" taking the form of a bare infinitive with no "to". Inserting the "to" there in ordinary conversation changes the meaning slightly, giving a stronger sense of an intention or purpose in the action:
We did not go just to play basketball, we went to make friends.
John goes to play basketball, but Mike goes to show off for the girls.
Stating the initial sentence as "let's go to play basketball" is certainly not incorrect --but it is less than fully natural.
I will also add that the use of a tag question "will you?" when you use the "let us" construction in asking someone else for permission to do something is not common, typical English.
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