Hello! This is Malia from the SALC. Last week, we learned how to say ‘それでいい’ in English. Today, let’s check the third grammar point in our list: ‘Let’s’.
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3. Let’s
「Let’s」=/=「しましょう」?!
This English contraction is loved by Japanese speakers of English.
But do you use it correctly?
One mistake is to use ‘let’s’ with a gerund, such as ‘let’s dancing’. Maybe you know that this is wrong—‘let’s’ must be used with a verb in its original form (e.g., let’s dance). But other problems arise when ‘let’s’ is used for all translations of ‘しましょう’.
In Japanese, ‘しましょう’ is used to suggest something.
Let’s look at examples of this:
1. また今度会いましょう！
- お互いに会うことを提案する
- 話し手と聞き手が一緒にやること、2人ともが提案された動詞を行う
2. 旅行に行く際には、盗難に遭わないように気を付けましょう。
- 気を付けるように勧める（アドバイスを与える）、丁寧に命令する
- 聞き手が話し手の関与なくやること、話し手は自分が提案した動詞を行わない
3. 荷物を持ちましょうか？
- 荷物を持ってあげることを申し出る
- 話し手が聞き手に対して何かをすること、聞き手は提案された動詞を行わない
In the first example, ‘let’s’ is correct. You can say “Let’s hang out again soon!” But for the second two examples, ‘let’s’ cannot be used.
Here is what it would mean:
1. When you travel, let’s be careful about theft. ✕
＝ あなたが旅行に行く際には、盗難に遭わないように一緒に気を付けましょう。 → 話し手が聞き手と旅行するわけでもないのに、一緒に気を付けることになる
2. Let’s carry your bag. ✕
＝ あなたのカバンを一緒に持ちましょう。 → 話し手は聞き手のカバンを持ってあげるつもりなのに、2人が協力して同時に
持つことになる
Here’s how to say these sentences instead:
1. When you travel, be careful about theft.
2. Shall I carry your bag? / Let me carry your bag for you.
‘Let’s’ means ‘一緒に○○しましょう’ or ‘私も、あなたも、○○しましょう’. Let’s = let us（直訳：私たちを○○させる） Therefore, both the speaker and listener will do the suggested action.
This is also why you cannot say ‘let’s ○○ with me’ or ‘let’s ○○ with us’. ‘Let’s’ includes the word ‘us’, so ‘let’s with us’ = ‘let us with us’. If you want to use ‘with me’ or ‘with us’, remove ‘let’s’:
1. Let’s study together with me. → 私たちで一緒に私と勉強しよう。✕
2. Let’s study together. → 私たちで一緒に勉強しよう。〇
3. Let’s study. → 私たち、勉強しよう。〇（話し手も聞き手も勉強するが一緒にしない場合も含む）
4. Study together with me. → 私と一緒に勉強してね。〇
In ‘持ちましょうか’, ‘しましょう’ changed to ‘shall I’ or ‘let me’.
Let’sの疑問形＝「Shall we ○○?」
It is grammatically correct to say “Shall we carry your bag?” and “Let’s carry your bag.” However, the speaker is offering to carry the bag for the other person, not with them. Therefore, ‘we’ → ‘I’ and ‘us’ → ‘me’ (私にカバンを持たせて).
‘Shall I’ is polite but less common. If you ask a question, the person might feel pressure to reply ‘no’. So English speakers often say “Let me get that for you!” before doing an action to help someone.
Conclusion:
Don’t say ‘let’s’ unless you will do the action too. If you are suggesting someone do it without you or offering to do it for them, remove ‘let’s’. Sentences that start with a verb are called imperative sentences (命令文). Basic imperative sentences might sound rude in Japanese, but they usually don’t in English.
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Have you made this common mistake in your everyday English? The next time you use the grammar point above, remember what you learned today or share your knowledge with your friends. Come back next week to check the fourth common mistake!
SALC LA
Malia Bernard