Let go is the correct phrase among the two. The verb let refers to the action of allowing something to happen or simply not actively restricting the said activity from occurring.
For example, “The bank let her withdraw all her earnings.” When used in combination with go or goes, the meaning is altered.
Both “let go” and “let goes” are commonly used; however, “let goes” is grammatically incorrect. To discover the difference between “let go” and “let goes”, let us look at the individual verbs go and goes.
The irregular verb go
Go describes the movement from one place to another. For example, “It’s too late to go home” and “I am going to graduate in two months.”
The verb goes
Goes represents the plural of the verb go. Additionally, goes is used to describe the third person singular present tense of go.
For example, “Her interest in James goes far beyond our comprehension,” and “He often goes on long walks with his dog.”
Why let go is correct
The phrase means to release or set something free when we combine the verbs let and go. Synonyms of “let go” are release and withdraw.
For example, “Unfortunately, James was let go by the company” means that James was fired from the company.
Similarly, “It’s essential to let go when you meditate” means to relax and to release all tensions.
Why let goes is incorrect
The phrase let goes is not grammatically correct. Although “let goes” might sound verbally correct, it is incorrect; thus, its use is not accepted.
For example, writing “She never let goes of her child’s hand” is wrong and should instead be “She never lets go of her child’s hand.”
Instead of “let goes”, we can use the proper terms lets go or let’s go (let us go).
When applying “lets go” in a sentence, we can write, “He lets go of his dog when in the Dog Park.” Likewise, we can say, “The night is still young so let’s go and party!”
Takeaway
Similar-sounding English words pose a challenge in discerning which is correct. The phrases let go and let goes are top of the chart.
Although goes is the plural of the verb go, let goes is not the plural of let go. Instead, phrases like lets go and let’s go, are more appropriate depending on the context where they are used.
Most importantly, just because words sound verbally correct does not mean they are grammatically correct.
