Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Imperatives with do

Imperatives with emphatic do-auxiliary are perceived as more polite than bare

imperatives:

[to guests who have just arrived]

Do take your coats off.

Short imperative answers may consist of emphatic do without a lexical verb:

A: Can I leave this in your office?

B: Yes, do, by all means.

Imperatives with let

First person plural and third person imperatives are formed with let:

A: Bob’s here to see you.

B: Let him wait. I don’t want to see him yet.

Contracted let’s is the most frequent form for first person plural imperatives. In

very formal contexts, the full form let us is used:

Let’s start, shall we.

Let us remember those who died on this day, twenty-five years ago.

Emphatic do may be used with let’s:

Do let’s hurry up or we’ll be late again.

Let’s

may occur alone in short responses:

A: Shall we go for a walk?

B: Yes, let’s.

542 | Clause types

Cambridge Grammar of English

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