"Hey, Alex, are you doing another English lesson?"
"Why, yes I am, Paperhead.
It's funny you should ask that."
"What is it about?"
"Well, I was going to do it about 20 common 'let's' phrases."
"What?"
"Yeah, 'let's'.
You can use it in a variety of situations."
"That sounds useful."
"It definitely is, Paperhead.
It definitely is."
"Okay.
I'll just watch from over there."
"Over here?"
"Yeah.
I have no body, so can you just, like, put me down?"
"Yeah, no problem.
No problem."
Very chatty, that person.
See you, Paperhead.
Just watch and learn.
All right.
Let's do this.
Hey, everyone.
I'm Alex.
Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on 20 common 'let's' phrases in English.
The language that I will give you in this video is incredibly useful for your daily
life.
These are imperatives that you can use and that you will hear in a variety of different
contexts.
You can use some of them to encourage and motivate people, and you can use some of them
to - well, let's find out what you can do with them.
Starting from the top, I grouped these ones together because they are all meant to kind
of motivate action, inspire action, encourage action.
So, "Let's go", okay?
You are trying to say "me", "you", "her", "our group".
You're trying to inspire them to follow you, so you say, "Let's go".
Next, this is a phrase that I used to use and still use all the time before I entered
an English classroom.
So, as an English teacher, sometimes I have 10 minutes between a class to have a break,
and I have to get my materials ready, my books.
I have to review things very quickly and say, "Okay, yes, it's present perfect day today",
and then when it's like one minute before class starts, I would say, "All right, let's
do this", and sometimes my colleagues would laugh, and they would like it, I think, so
"Let's do it.
Let's do this, let's do that", and one of my favorites, "Let's do this thing".
So, this thing can be whatever activity it is that you need to do next, right?
This is more informal, it is slang, so you say, "All right, let's do this thing.
Let's make it happen."
Next, "Let's get to work".
Again, all of these just mean "Let's get started.
Let's get to work.
Let's do this.
Let's do it.
Let's do this thing."
Next, "Let's check".
Why don't we verify that, right?
So, you can check information.
So, what year was Bono, the lead singer of U2, born in?
I don't know.
Let's check.
We can check on our phones or on our computers, right?
Our laptops or tablets, etc.
All right.
You can also say, "Let's check it" or "Let's check it out".
Now, "Let's check it out" is different than "Let's check", right?
"Let's check" means like "Let's verify", which I mentioned before.
"Let's check it out" means "Let's inspect it" or "Let's try it", "Let's sample it".
So, if you're walking down downtown and you're looking for a place to eat lunch and you say,
"Eh, I don't feel like eating there or there", "Oh, that's a new place.
Do you want to check it out?"
Yeah.
"Let's check it out.
Let's go.
Let's do this thing."
Right?
Next, I put these ones with the verb "try" in one category.
"Let's try.
Let's attempt this."
Right?
So, "try" means to attempt something or to sample something.
That something could be an activity, it could be a food, a drink, it can be almost anything
that you can attempt or try or sample.
So, you can also say, "Let's try it.
Let's try it out."
Right?
So, if you're shopping for a bicycle and, you know, you find one and you like it, and
you're like, "Okay, well, it's not bad, but I want to try it.
All right, let's try it out.
Let's see how it goes."
Right?
Next, "Let's try again later."
All right?
So, if you're calling a restaurant or a store and no one picks up and you say, "Ah, no one
picked up."
Or, "It was busy."
Okay, well, "Let's try again later."
Right?
So, you're encouraging the person to try again later.
Next, "Let's try something else."
So, what we're doing isn't working, or I don't like the thing that we're doing right now.
So, "Let's try something else."
So, imagine you're playing a new video game or a new board game with some friends, and
your friends seem kind of bored, and they're like, "Eh, let's try something else.
I'm not having a good time, or this game isn't for me."
Next, "Let's begin", "Let's start".
Similar to "Let's go", right?
Whatever it is, it can be at the beginning of a work meeting.
For example, the person who is in charge of the meeting might say, "Okay, everyone is
here.
Let's start.
Let's begin.
Let's start the meeting.
Let's go."
Next, "Let's stop there.
Let's stop here.
Let's stop here for now.
Let's stop there for now."
So, this can be a variety of contexts, of course.
So, "Let's stop" - literally stop.
So, if you're driving in a car and someone needs to go to the bathroom, right?
"Let's stop here."
So, you want to stop the car because you need to use the bathroom.
Going back to the workplace context, if you're in a meeting and the meeting is going very
long and you think, "We should take a break.
We've been talking for 90 minutes now."
And maybe the person leading the meeting will say, "You know what?
I see everyone is a little tired or hungry.
Let's stop here for now, and we'll come back in 15 minutes."
So, they're just telling you, "You know what?
We are going to stop here.
Let's stop there.
Let's stop here for the moment, and we will continue again in a few minutes."
Next, I'll move over here, "Let's move on."
So, "to move on" means to move to the next part of whatever it is you are doing or talking
about.
Usually, this is used, again, very commonly in a business meeting context, so you're talking
about one topic and maybe you have spent already 20 minutes discussing one thing, and you have
talked about it as much as you can, and the person says, "You know what?
We've talked enough about this.
Let's move on.
We have a lot of things to discuss today.
Let's continue on to the next topic."
So, "Let's move on" down the list, "Let's keep going."
Okay?
So, "Let's keep going", "Let's keep moving forward."
So, again, let's go back into the business meeting, and the person who is in charge of
the meeting might say, "Is everyone okay?
Should we stop?"
And everyone says, "I'm good.
Yeah, I'm okay, too."
Okay?
"Let's keep going.
Let's keep going for another 30 minutes" or "Let's keep going for another 15 minutes before
we stop."
Next, "Let's make sure".
So, "to make sure" means to check and make certain of something.
So, you can say, "Let's make sure" by itself.
You can say, "Let's make sure it works."
Okay, so if you are a software developer and you just created, you know, a new little program
that you're running and you want to tell everyone, it's like, "Alright, let's make sure it works.
Let's test it.
Let's try it.
Let's make sure that's true."
Okay?
So, if you are a big company or even a small company and you want to post a news story
onto your social media feed or your website, and somebody in your company says, "I don't
know if that information is accurate.
I don't know if that information is correct.
Let's make sure that's true before we post it."
It's like, "No, but it makes us look good."
"Yeah, but it will make us look bad if it's not true, so let's make sure.
Let's check.
Let's make certain that it is true."
Let's see.
You know what that means, right?
So, let's wait and see and let's see.
Very similar, so you can, you know, if you are waiting for a pizza in the oven and you
put it for 12 minutes and, you know, one of your friends is very eager to eat the pizza
and they're like, "Oh, I want to look now", and you're like, "It's 12 minutes, let's wait
and see.
Okay?
It's not ready yet.
We can wait a little longer and you can see it after."
All right, so let's see what's happening over there.
Let's wait and see and see what happens, like, in the game if you're watching a game, for
example.
Okay, the next two, these are similar to "Let's try something", but they are more idiomatic
and they are more informal.
So, you can say, "Let's give it a go" or "Let's give it a whirl", all right?
So, "whirl" or "swirl" would be like this, something that's turning around really quickly.
If you give something a go, if you give something a whirl, it means that you're trying it.
Okay?
So, you can also say, I didn't write it here, but it just came to me, "Let's take it for
a spin."
So, if you take something for a spin, you try it.
When you're shopping for a new car, unless you're very certain that, "I know this car
is excellent, it's exactly like a car I've driven in the past", most people take a test
drive of the car they plan to purchase.
So, they will say, "All right, let's give it a whirl.
Let's give it a spin.
Let's give it a go.
Let's try it."
All right?
So, maybe you have a plan or an idea, right?
You and your friends are going camping, and you have, you know, a path that you know in
the forest, and you think, "Okay, if we take this path, I think we can get back to the
campground before the sun goes down and still have a full day."
Like, okay, well, let's give it a go.
Let's see what happens, all right?
Let's try it.
All right.
Next, "let's meet up".
So, this is an invitation that you're giving to a person.
After "let's meet up", you can also give a time or you can give a location.
So, "Let's meet up at 9.
Let's meet up at the theatre.
Let's meet at this place or at this time."
Whew, let's get out of here, okay?
So, if you have been at your job all day and you've worked a lot of overtime, maybe this
is your 12th hour or 16th hour on the job, and you're just so exhausted, and you say,
"You know what?
Let's get out of here.
Let's leave this place."
It's also, you know, if you're uncomfortable in a situation, if you go to a new cafe or
a new bar or a new club and you don't feel comfortable in it, you can say, "Yeah, I don't
feel comfortable.
Let's get out of here.
Let's leave.
Let's go."
All right?
And finally, "Let's call it a day".
So, "to call it a day" means to end a period of activity.
So, if you are at the end of your workday, going back to "Let's get out of here", "Let's
call it a day" means, "You know what?
I'm tired.
Let's call it a day.
That's enough for now.
We'll continue tomorrow."
It doesn't have to be only at the end of a workday, but the most common context where
this is used is "Let's call it a day".
If you are in a work meeting as well, the person who is organizing and running the meeting
might use this as well.
If the meeting is, like, at the end of the day or maybe right before lunch, they might
say, "You know what?
Let's stop there for now.
Let's call it a day.
We're not going to talk anymore about this.
You know, we've said as much as we can say.
You have gotten as much information as you can get right now, so let's call it a day.
Let's stop, and we'll continue on tomorrow."
So, that's a lot of information.
Very quickly, I just want you to repeat after me, alright?
I'm going to try to do this a little speedily, which just means quickly.
Let's go.
Let's do it.
Let's do this thing.
Let's get to work.
Let's check it out.
Let's try it.
Let's try again later.
Let's try something else.
Let's begin.
Let's stop here for now.
Let's move on.
Let's keep going.
Let's make sure.
Let's see.
Let's wait and see.
Let's give it a go.
Yeah, let's give it a whirl.
Let's meet up.
Let's get out of here.
Let's call it a day.
Alright, now, I am going to call it a day for you guys in this video, and if you want
to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz.
Yes, the quiz with all the questions where you can practice what you learned on www.engvid.com.
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