IT + ALLOW (Usage)

Question

Hello,My grammar book says the verb 'allow' cannot be used in a passive structure when the subject is 'It'. For example,(a) It is not allowed to smoke in the kitchen.  (b) It is not permitted to smoke in the kitchen.Here , sentence (1) is wrong. (1) Is there a specific reason for (1) being wrong? (2) Does this rule apply to active structure of 'It'+'allow' too?

Nef · Accepted Answer

Hello,

Some thoughts from a native (American) English speaker who is NOT a grammarian:

1. I wasn't familiar with the rule but, looking at the sentences, I have an idea that the rule makes sense a lot of the time, but not always. Generally, it seems to be worth following. Why? If (a) and (b) are taken literally, they give the impression that IT is forbidden to have a cigarette (pipe/cigar...) in the kitchen!

SinceIT isn't a person (and so presumably not a smoker), this is nonsensical.

(But, suppose you have a guest who sees you prevent your dog from coming into the house. ("Stay outside, Fido!")The guest, not knowing your dog's *** at that time, might say: "It isn't (or is not) allowed in the house?" In that case, the usage seems to make a lot more sense. Once again, context matters.)

2. I would think that rule does apply to active structure. In English, we don't say "It is allowed to smoke." We do say "Smoking is allowed" or "It is OK to smoke."

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello

My E-J dictionary says the same Krish wrote here. It says: "[1]<It is not allowed to swim here> is wrong but [2]<It is not permitted to swim here> is acceptable. The dictionary suggests "allow" is used for "personal permission" and "permit" is used for "public permission". But the dictionary doesn't say this is the reason that the sentence #1 is wrong.

I googled "It is not allowed to park" and "It is not permitted to park". The former hit 250 sites and the latter 195 sites. If you change the verb "park" to any other verbs like "eat", "smoke", etc., the result would be similar. So I am wondering on what ground my dictionary is saying such a thing like above.

paco

Rishonly · Answer

Thanks Paco2004 and Nef.

CalifJim · Answer

My grammar book says the verb 'allow' cannot be used in a passive structure when the subject is 'It'.

The idiomatic expression "(for someone) to be allowed to" requires a 'someone' who is given the permission.

George is not allowed to smoke in the kitchen.
Mary is not allowed to watch certain films.
We are not allowed to spend our money on foolish things.

We can stretch this to animates like cats and dogs, perhaps, which we might refer to with "it".

-- There's a cat outside. Is it yours?
-- Actually it's the neighbor's cat. It is not allowed to come in.

Note that "it" refers to the cat, and the entity not given permission is the cat.

However, your grammar book is talking about "dummy 'it'". When "it" simply occupies the space of a sentence subject, but does not refer to anyone or anything receiving permission, "it" cannot be used.

Therefore we cannot use "It is not allowed to smoke in the kitchen" as another way of saying "People in general are not allowed to smoke in the kitchen". You can say, however, "Smoking is not allowed in the kitchen" if you want that meaning - or, indeed, "No one is allowed to smoke in the kitchen." The subject of "to be allowed to" must be a referring expression.

The verb "permit" (for no reason other than historical accident, perhaps) does not share this property with "allow".

CJ

Rishonly · Answer

I see. The dummy 'it' seems the 'key' here. Thanks CJ.

IT + ALLOW (Usage)

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