allow
part of speech
verb (allow, allows, allowed, allowing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To let someone do something; to give permission: "Dogs are not allowed." tree →
2) To make it possible: "The bridge allows people to cross." tree →
3) To plan or keep time, money or space for something: "Allow ten minutes to walk." tree →
sense in the lessons
In school and safety, rules say what is allowed and not allowed: phones not allowed in class, running not allowed by the pool. In maths and planning: allow extra time. Phrases: be allowed to, allow for, not allowed.
examples
- Are we allowed to eat in class? tree →
- Dogs are not allowed in the shop. tree →
- Mum allowed me to stay up late. tree →
- Allow twenty minutes for the cake to cool. tree →
- The ramp allows wheelchairs to get in. tree →
- No running is allowed by the pool. tree →
- Allow for traffic when you plan. tree →
- Phones are not allowed during the test. tree →
- Will you allow me to go with you?” tree →
note
"Allow someone to do something": "allow me to go". "Allowed" sounds like "aloud" (out loud) — homophones. "Allow for" means remember to include in your plan. The noun is "allowance" (also pocket money).
In the corpora
- A landlord is allowed to raise the rent, usually with warning, and a rise leaves less money for other things.
- Grown-ups call very sweet romantic film scenes "soppy", and children are allowed to look away or roll their eyes.
- Asking questions and asking for a hug are always allowed.
- Arguments on TV get people watching, so some are allowed or even planned; that does not make shouting a good idea.
- Switching off or walking away as soon as you see an 18 is always allowed, even at someone else's house.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «allow» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.