let

«let» in Mova's school dictionary: To allow someone to do something: "Mum let me stay up." — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (let, lets, let, letting); noun (a let — in tennis; to let — for rent)

meaning for a pupil

1) To allow someone to do something: "Mum let me stay up." tree →

2) "Let's" (let us) suggests doing something together: "Let's go!" tree →

3) To allow something to move: let go, let in, let out. tree →

4) To rent a house or room (British). tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths, "let x be the number" means "call the number x". In everyday life it is about permission: who lets you do what. Phrases: let's, let go, let in, let out, let down (disappoint), let alone, let me know, let me see.

examples

• Let me help you. tree →
• Let's play outside. tree →
• Dad let us watch a film. tree →
• Let go of the rope slowly. tree →
• Please let the dog in. tree →
• Don't let me down. tree →
• Let x be the number of apples. tree →
• Let me know when you are ready. tree →
• "Well," says she, "let's see now. tree →

note

Past is "let" (same as present): "Yesterday she let me." After "let" use the plain verb without "to": "let me go", not "let me to go". "Let's" (let us) is not "lets" (he lets). In maths "let" names an unknown; it does not change any number.

In the corpora

• An overdraft lets you spend below zero, which is borrowing, and banks charge high interest on it.
• A siren and flashing blue lights mean police are rushing to an emergency, and other drivers must pull over to let them through.
• They disagree honestly, and the next election lets everyone choose again.
• Many people feel let down by politicians, but they can still vote, write letters and get involved.
• Let's just be sorry for them." Nan nods: "You're right, love."

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «let» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.