Let and Leave
2020-09-26
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Today we answer a question from Thu Huong. Thu Huong writes:
2I am confused when using the words "let" and "leave."
3Please tell me more about them.
4Thank you -Thu Huong.
5Dear Thu Huong,
6Thank you for writing to us.
7These two words may seem similar, but they have different uses.
8Let us look at them!
9You hear it often in everyday language.
10In one famous song the Beatles sing "let it be."
11There, it means to relax, and not worry too much about your life.
12At other times, you may hear "leave her be," as in this example:
13The cat is not happy about visitors, please leave her be.
14"Let it/her/him be" and "leave it/her/him be" mean about the same thing.
15That is, you should permit the cat to remain where she is, and not try to touch her.
16"Let" commonly means to permit someone or something to do something. Here are a few examples:
17Let me help you if you need it.
18The teacher lets us take a five-minute break during class.
19It is good to let your dog go outside for half an hour each day.
20"Let's," a shortened form of "let us" is commonly used for making a suggestion to another person or a group of people.
21Here are two examples:
22Let's sit under a big tree so we won't get sunburned.
23Let's tell Andrew to buy some fish for our meal.
24"Let us" is more rarely used.
25It can communicate more like a command than a suggestion.
26For example, during a religious service, the clergy leader might say, "Let us pray," meaning "Now, we will pray."
27"Let us" also might be used when the speaker wants to add weight to a request, like in this sentence:
28Please let us get a dog, Mom!
29The negative way of saying this is "let's not" or "let us not".
30For example:
31Let's not go to a movie today, it is too nice outside!
32"Leave" usually means to go away from a place or person.
33For example:
34We left the park early this afternoon.
35I left my friends after the party so I could go home.
36"Leave" can also mean to give up or stop having a job or position. For example:
37The mayor will be leaving office in a month.
38Finally, "leave" also means to let something remain as it is.
39This is the closest definition of "leave" to "let", but they are not quite the same.
40Here are some examples:
41After the car accident, I left my car as it was for a few months before I got it fixed.
42Painting your room? Leave the color choice to me.
43I hope that helps to answer your question, Thu Huong.
44And that's Ask a Teacher.
45What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
46I'm Jill Robbins.
47And I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Today we answer a question from Thu Huong. Thu Huong writes: 2Question: 3I am confused when using the words "let" and "leave." Please tell me more about them. 4Thank you -Thu Huong. 5Answer: 6Dear Thu Huong, 7Thank you for writing to us. These two words may seem similar, but they have different uses. Let us look at them! 8Let it be 9You hear it often in everyday language. In one famous song the Beatles sing "let it be." There, it means to relax, and not worry too much about your life. At other times, you may hear "leave her be," as in this example: 10The cat is not happy about visitors, please leave her be. 11"Let it/her/him be" and "leave it/her/him be" mean about the same thing. That is, you should permit the cat to remain where she is, and not try to touch her. 12Let 13"Let" commonly means to permit someone or something to do something. Here are a few examples: 14Let me help you if you need it. 15The teacher lets us take a five-minute break during class. 16It is good to let your dog go outside for half an hour each day. 17"Let's," a shortened form of "let us" is commonly used for making a suggestion to another person or a group of people. Here are two examples: 18Let's sit under a big tree so we won't get sunburned. 19Let's tell Andrew to buy some fish for our meal. 20"Let us" is more rarely used. It can communicate more like a command than a suggestion. For example, during a religious service, the clergy leader might say, "Let us pray," meaning "Now, we will pray." 21"Let us" also might be used when the speaker wants to add weight to a request, like in this sentence: 22Please let us get a dog, Mom! 23The negative way of saying this is "let's not" or "let us not". For example: 24Let's not go to a movie today, it is too nice outside! 25Leave 26"Leave" usually means to go away from a place or person. For example: 27We left the park early this afternoon. 28I left my friends after the party so I could go home. 29"Leave" can also mean to give up or stop having a job or position. For example: 30The mayor will be leaving office in a month. 31Finally, "leave" also means to let something remain as it is. This is the closest definition of "leave" to "let", but they are not quite the same. Here are some examples: 32After the car accident, I left my car as it was for a few months before I got it fixed. 33Painting your room? Leave the color choice to me. 34I hope that helps to answer your question, Thu Huong. 35And that's Ask a Teacher. 36What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 37I'm Jill Robbins. 38And I'm Gregory Stachel. 39Gregory Stachel and Jill Robbins wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 40________________________________________________________________ 41Words in This Story 42negative - adj. expressing denial or refusal 43Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.