From: "Nik Taylor" <fortytwo@...>
> Muke Tever wrote:
> > In _function_ it can be. (can be.)
> >
> > But the _form_ is simply second-person imperative of 'let' plus a verb.
> > Literally it just comes out to "(you) allow us to dance".
>
> Let's can ONLY be used as a first person plural imperative. No native
> speaker would ever say "Let's dance" to mean "Allow us to dance". For
> that meaning, you'd say "Let us dance".
That's just a distinction between inclusive we "'s" (let's X) and exclusive
we "us" (let us X). At least for me it is. I wouldn't say "let us dance"
to my dance partner (although I might say it to her chaperone).
Allow me to have this dance with you?
(Let's have this dance.)
Allow me to have this dance with her?
(Let us have this dance.)
> Let's ORIGINATED as a simple
> contraction of "let us",
Well, when I said 'literally', I literally meant 'literally'. ;)
> but, except in certain formal situations (like
> in church; "Let us pray"), _let's_ and _let us_ can't be used
> interchangeably.
*Muke!
--
"Let us not talk falsely now; the hour is getting late"