Meaning
to give permission or make it possible for someone to do something
Primary Function
grants permission
Communicative Purpose
to authorize, permit, or enable
Pattern
allow; to
Core Structure
allow; to
Função primária
grants permission
Propósito comunicativo
to authorize, permit, or enable
Situações de gatilho
rules, parenting, work policies
Contextos
everyday, professional
Padrão
allow; to
Estrutura central
allow; to
Slots de substituição
people to do something
Colocados típicos
- kindly
- not
- please
- be allowed to
- does the policy allow them to
Substituições comuns
- permit someone to
- let someone do (bare infinitive)
Erros comuns
using *allow someone doing; using gerund after object instead of bare infinitive
Similar / contraste
permit someone to, let someone, enable someone to
Interferências
French ‘permettre à qn de’ – similar form but note that English requires a bare infinitive after the object, whereas French uses ‘de’ + infinitive.
Família do chunk
- permit to
- let
- enable to
- grant permission to
Nuance
'allow to' is formal and registers authority/politeness; 'let' (bare infinitive) sounds more informal and casual.
Efeito pragmático
creates an authoritative yet polite tone when granting permission in professional or institutional settings.
Dica de memória
They don’t allow visitors to use the car park.
Nota
Be aware that 'allow to' requires a bare infinitive (without 'to') after the object, unlike its French counterpart 'permettre à qn de'.
Upgrade path
use ‘authorise someone to’ in legal/official contexts
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