Re: Fiat Lux

Nik Taylor wrote:
>
> 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".  Let's ORIGINATED as a simple
> contraction of "let us", but, except in certain formal situations (like
> in church; "Let us pray"), _let's_ and _let us_ can't be used
> interchangeably.
I've heard _let's_ used interchangeably with _let us_ - I've heard
people say things like "Let's see." in place of things like "Can we see
it?"

That can probably only be done with a few verbs, though, because you're
right, "Let's dance." can only be a first person plural imperative.

--
Robert