Could you explain in a simple way usage of conjuction LEST. with exAMPLES thanks

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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Could you explain in a simple way usage of conjuction LEST. with exAMPLES thanks for answers?

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You keep asking this sort of question.
Have you looked in a Learner’s Dictionary?

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LEST is negative in concept. It is used with ‘should’ when we mean to avoid some possible unpleasant happening. No negator should be used again. For example:

Carry an umbrella lest you should get wet (should be/be drenched) in the rain.
He jotted down the points lest he should forget them.

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello,

“Lest” is a very formal word.

We do not usually use it in ordinary conversation.

Here are some bad examples that I made up. Maybe they will give you the idea.

  1. Mr. Smith never criticizes his wife’s cooking, lest he ANGER her.

  2. I try not to eat too much ice cream, lest it MAKE me fat.

  3. Don’t lie on the beach too long, lest it BURN your skin.

As you can see, after “lest,” we use the so-called SUBJUNCTIVE.

That is, we do NOT use an “s” in the third-person. As you know, we USUALLY say: He angerS her; it makeS me fat; it burnS your skin.

As Anglophile reminded us, in some varieties of English, speakers add the word “should.” In the United States, I think that very few speakers use “lest,” and when they do use it, they do not add “should.”

Well, this writer will now stop, lest he BORE you.

James

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Many thanks
I am so grateful to you
I looked up in a dictionary but yet havent understood

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Thank you, James, for your elucidation. But, as I showed in my example above (be drenched), the ‘should’ may be unexpressed or implied. The practice here is to use it. Of course, it’s a formal word and is rarely heard. Is it that the subjunctive is common among native speakers?

And yes, it may be likened to: I suggested that he consult a physician.

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Thank you for your helpful comments.