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Questions & Answers about Laten we samen eten.
How do we form "Let's" commands in Dutch?
To say "Let's do something", you start the sentence with laten we, which literally means "let we". This is a special type of command (imperative) used to make a joint suggestion.
In English, we say "let us" (object), but here we use we (subject). Is it wrong to use ons?
Yes, for this type of suggestion, you must use the subject pronoun we. Saying laten ons eten would be incorrect. You just have to remember that Dutch uses "let we" instead of "let us"!
Why is the main verb eten at the very end of the sentence?
Because laten acts as a helping verb here. In Dutch, when you have a helping verb, the second verb (the main action, like eten) is pushed all the way to the end of the sentence in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
What if I want to tell someone else to eat, instead of suggesting "let's"?
If you are giving a direct command to someone else ("Eat!"), you do not use laten we. You would drop the -en to find the verb stem and put it at the start of the sentence: Eet!