Let’s and shall

We often get confused while choosing the best vocabulary to use in specific situations. 

Even though people who have mastered the grammar caught themselves in confusing situations and made the wrong choice, but if we dive deeper into the ocean of grammar, we will find so many mesmerizing things.

English grammar has made things more comfortable by offering various rules, modal verbs, tenses, parts of speech, and much more. One only needs to choose what befits his criteria the most. 

Most of us get confused when it comes to suggesting something. Right? We get confused whether we should begin our sentence with shall, will, let’s or may. 

In this lesson, you will learn the usage of ‘shall’ and ‘let’s.’ you will get to know the uniqueness of ‘let’s’ and ‘shall’ in grammar. 

Let’s 

Let's is the contraction of let us. You can use 'let us' but 'let's' is more commonly used in American English. Let's is used for a suggestion when we expect that the other person will agree to it. 

Whenever we use 'let's' while offering a suggestion, we include someone else in our plans. Let's is one of the most frequently used suggestion forms.

Let's is informal we use such friendly words with either friends, colleagues or with the people we are close so that we should not sound disrespectful

Structure:

The structure of 'let's' is easy. 'Let's' is followed by the first form of the verb. 

Example:

• Let’s go home now. 
• Let’s play cricket. 
• Let’s have coffee. 
• Let’s study for another half an hour. 
• Let’s take a break. 
• Let’s go to Ali’s home today. 
• Let’s stay home today and watch a movie.
• It’s almost 10.00, let’s leave for the office. 

Conversation :

Catherine: what should we today?

Jack: let’s go to the shopping mall. 

Catherine: I am bored now. 

Jack: let’s play another game. 

Catherine:  do you want coffee?

Jack: No, I had it half an hour ago. Let’s have popcorns and watch a movie. 

If you want to sound formal, you can use "let us" instead of "let's."

Example:

• Let us start a meeting; it's already 4.00 pm.

Someone in higher authority than you, such as a teacher, boss, or principal, can use 'let's' or 'let us' to give polite instruction to one person or group of people.

Example:

• Let us pray for the deceased now said the father. 
• Let us stay quiet for a while, said the teacher. 

Negative form of let’s 

There are two negative forms of 'let's.'

1. Let's not
2. Don't let's.

Let's not is frequently used as compared to don't let's.

• Let's not forget about the task which the teacher assigned us.
• Let's not talk about that incident ever again.

You can use 'let us not' or 'do not let us' in formal situations such as reports, political documents, speeches, etc.

Example:

• Let us not deceive ourselves that our political affairs are going well.
• Let us not forget those people who sacrificed themselves for the sake of independence.

Shall

“Let’s talk about shall, shall we?  Sure.”

If we date back to the 17th century, it was said that 'shall' was only used with I and we and 'will' with he, she, it, and they. But this is not the case now; you can use I and We with 'will.' 'Shall' is not very much used these days. The negative form of shall is shan't or shall not.

Shall and will are said to be used as modal verbs in future time. That's true, but besides that shall have some uses too, which are described below.

Nowadays, the most common use of shall is in questions serving as suggestions or offering to do something.  It is also used as a question tag.

Uses of shall

Suggestion

We use 'shall' to express the suggestion when we invite someone to an agreement and expect a positive response. It is similar to 'should.'

Example:

• Shall I make coffee for both of us?
• Shall we go to the party now?
• It's hot outside. Shall we stay at home?
• Shall I bring some fruit?

Instructions

We use shall to give or ask for instructions

Example:

• What shall I do with your books?
• I shall meet you at 3.00 pm sharp.
• You shall not cross that boundary; it’s prohibited. 

Offers

We can use shall while offering someone or when we are volunteering to do something. 

Example:

• Shall I wait for your call?
• Shall I carry your bag? It seems heavy.
• I shall prepare the food for you. 

Shall in tag questions. 

We can use shall in tag questions if the statement begins with “let’s” or “let us.” But in questions we don’t use shall with he, she, it, they.

Example:

• Let’s have some fruit. Shall we?
• Let’s go, shall we?
• Let us organize the books on the shelves. Shall we?

Conclusion

In this lesson,  you have learned the use of 'shall' and 'let's.' Always remember that the usage of shall with I and we is obsolete now.  There are many more uses of shall, but the uses described in this lesson are commonly used and enough for the beginner level.