Re: THEORY: third-person imperatives
From: | Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> |
Date: | Tuesday, April 27, 1999, 4:33 |
"Raymond A. Brown" wrote:
> Unfortunately, however, 'let' can still be used with the meaning of
> 'permit' and there must, I suspect, still be the odd occasion when, e.g. a
> translator into French must decide whether "let us go!" is 'Laissez-nous
> partir!' or simply 'Partons!'
Indeed, that's the distinction between "let us" and "let's" in spoken
English. Let us go = Permit us to go; Let's go = 1st person plural
imperative. In fact, the only time I've ever heard "let us" used for
the "imperative" sense is in certain formal registers like church
language.
--
"It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father
was hanged." - Irish proverb
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