Let's play! (suggestions)
One word turns a command into an invitation. Let's is how English children start every game — and how yours will too.
From age 4First words →
✏️ The pattern
- Saying it
- Let's play!
- Saying no
- Let's not run.
- Asking
- Shall we play? (later)
- Short answer
- Yes! / Good idea!
🗣️ Sentences a child can say
Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.
🩹 What you will actually hear
The three mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one.
Let's to play.Let's play.
Let's takes the bare verb — no to. The to sneaks in from 'I want to play'; different pattern, different rule.
Let's plays.Let's play.
No s ever follows let's — the verb stays in its simplest form no matter who is playing.
🎯 How to teach it
- 1
Make let's the lesson's hinge: every activity change starts with 'Let's…!' said with full enthusiasm. Within a month the class says it first.
- 2
Hand a child the choice card: they pick the next game and must announce it — 'Let's play bingo!' Power is the best pronunciation coach.
- 3
Pair it with actions the class already owns from imperatives: jump, sing, draw. Let's recycles every verb they know into social language.
🗂️ Topic packs that pair with this
Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.
💬 Questions teachers ask
What's the difference between Let's play and Play?
Play! is an order aimed at you; Let's play! includes the speaker. Children feel the warmth difference immediately — it is the same as the difference between a whistle and a hand extended.
Do I explain that let's = let us?
Not before age eight. Let's is one word to a small child, and unpacking it adds nothing they can use. Save the apostrophe story for when they write.