The misuse of these words
is very common among social media users. Other words which have really confused
most English users in terms of usage are 'advise and advice', 'bother
and border', 'taught and thought', 'once and ones', 'where and were', 'there
and their', 'weather and whether' etc. Although I will provide some hints on
how to distinguish between these words which are somewhat phonetically related,
it is important I first discuss the thematic preoccupation of this article.
As regards pronunciation, these words (let's and lets) are
the same, but they are semantically and structurally different. In other words,
they are pronounced alike but have different spellings and meanings.
"Lets",
which means to allow, permit or release, is the third-person singular form of
the verb "let". Therefore, you are expected to say, "I
let", "You let" but "He/She lets",
and "It lets".
"Let's",
on the other hand, is the contracted form of "let us". It is
inappropriate to write "let's us". It is either you use "let's"
or "let us".
Examples
1. "Let's always
visit Tammy's English blog." This can as well be written as "Let
us always visit Tammy's English blog."
2. I will be upset with
her if she lets the prisoner leave.
In sum, "let's"
means "let us" whereas "lets" means “to allow or
permit.” The wrong use of these words is not noticeable in speech, but in
writing. Therefore, you should always ensure an appropriate use of these words
when writing.
Below
are some of the confusing words in English and hints on how to use them
appropriately.
Tags:
Tutorials
