In Hindi, there are two primary idioms for making exhortations (i.e., “let’s …” in English):
- A plural habitual verb form
- A plural subjunctive verb form
Even imperative verbs are used to make exhortations in certain expressions such as “चलो”, which doesn’t mean “go!”, but rather is more like a farewell.
The plural habitual verb form is more common, and the plural subjunctive verb form is more formal.
Consider a few examples:
चलते हैं – “Let’s go”; this is often reinforced with an imperative, such as चलिए or चलो as in चलो चलते हैं; the sense is similar to “come on, let’s go”.
बैठके खाते हैं – “Let’s sit down and eat”
हम एक दुसरे से प्यार करें – “Let us love one another”