Hi friends, I’m Rachna and I’m back. Well in my school days as far as I can remember,
our teachers never let us copy during exams or never allowed us to copy. Which one is
correct? Never let us copy, never allowed us to copy. Well, at the end of the day, we
were not allowed to copy or well, she didn’t let us copy. So this is what today’s lesson
is about.-using let and allow in respect to permission.
Okay, so many times we use these two words –let and allow when we talk about giving permission to someone
or permitting, permitting someone to do something. So, you can’t use, you can use both the words to
construct sentences for giving permission. But there is a slight difference in terms
of constructing the sentences. Of course they mean the same, you can use them interchangeably.
Okay, so when we talk about ‘let’ okay, so you say ‘let someone or let somebody
do something’, okay. So, this is the construction when you use ‘let’. Let somebody do something
that means the verb is always in the present. When you use allow you say ‘Allow somebody
to do something’ That is the difference between the two sentences. Let somebody do
something, you allow somebody to do something. So you add a ‘to’ here followed by a verb
in the present form. So if I tell you, Maria opened the door, see I’m using the past.
Maria opened the door and let the dog go outside. Now, let somebody do something. So let somebody,
who is somebody in this case? The dog, do what? Go outside, do something. Okay, that
means she allowed the dog to go outside. She left the door open and freed him to go and
have a nice stroll. So, she let the dog go outside, okay. Now let’s take a look at
how we use ‘allow to’, allow somebody to do something. So, my boss never allows
me to go home early. See, how unfair that is. My boss never allows me to go home early.
So, allow somebody, in this case not allowed. Allow who? Me, so I’m the somebody, to do
what? To do something, to go home early, to do something, okay. So, remember with ‘let’
you do not use ‘to’. I cannot say ‘let the dog to go outside’. This would be completely
wrong, okay. So, uhh when a little girl wants permission from her mother to wear her favorite
dress, she says, let me wear my favorite dress, okay. Let me wear, not let me to wear. So
let me wear my favorite dress or allow me to wear my favorite dress, right. Both are
correct. So we can use them interchangeably. I can say, Maria opened the door and allowed
the dog to go outside, okay. Allowed the dog to go outside and here I can replace it with
let. My boss never lets me go home early. Okay, so both are correct. You can use them
interchangeably, but remember, with ‘let’ you will not use ‘to’ and the past form
of ‘let’ is also let, let, okay. Here you say allow or allowed in the past tense,
okay. So with ‘allow’ you will use ‘to’ because the structure goes like this ‘allow
somebody to do something’, okay and after ‘to’ you use the verb in the present form.
Like here I have ‘go’, to go home early, okay. Another example, John never lets me
pay for dinner. Nice to have friends like that. John never lets me pay, let somebody,
who is that somebody? Me. Somebody do what? Pay, for dinner, okay, do something. Okay,
so John never lets me pay for dinner. So, supposing I replace it with ‘allow’. It
will be, John never allows me to pay for dinner. Don’t forget the ‘to’. So, both are
correct, okay. But don’t say never allows me pay. No, never allows me to do something.
So, never allows me to pay for dinner. Now, another example for ‘allow’, she doesn’t
allow her children, okay to cross the road alone. So in the negative, I’ve used a negative
sentence. She doesn’t allow her children, okay, allow who? Her children, so this is
the somebody, to do what? To cross the road, okay. If I replace it with ‘let’, it will
be, she doesn’t let her children cross the road alone, okay. So, okay. So, just remember
when you use ‘let’ you don’t use to with it because it says, let somebody do something,
okay and uhh allow you say, allow somebody to do something. So, with ‘allow’ you
will use ‘to’ in the structure, okay. But both are the same, they both are used
to give permission or take permission. Okay, now I have a different structure using ‘let’.
You let your car be stolen. Now this means, let something be done, okay. This is a little
different, where you don’t talk about who’s doing it. Who is the doer you know like who’s
stealing the car. So I say, you left your key in the ignition, you left your car doors
unlocked, so what did you do in short? You let your car be stolen. So this is the structure-let
something be done. Let what? Your car be and the verb will always come in the past participle.
So many time we console our when they’re going through this bad phase or break up,
we say don’t let your heart be broken, right. So, that means don’t permit your heart to
be broken. So, don’t let you heart be broken, be strong, okay. Now, the similar thing when
you use ‘allow’, it says ‘allow something to be done’. So you have the ‘to’ again
coming here, okay. So our boss never allows a single rule to be broken.So you have the
past participle, the same rule applies, oaky. So our boss never allows a single rule to
be broken. So, I do have the ‘to’ here , okay. So this is, allow something to be
done. Uhh well, I can say the same thing to my friend. Don’t allow your heart to be
broken. So again, verb in the third form, the past participle. Don’t allow your heart
to be broken or I can say don’t let your heart be broken. Remember, the ‘to’ over
here, okay, so don’t get confused. The next example, don’t let your mind be changed,
oaky. So, we’ve planned for a movie okay, we’re keeping ourselves free, we’re going
out tonight to watch a movie. Don’t let your mind be changed. That means, don’t
let it be changed. So in the negative, don’t let your mind be changed. This is the past
participle-changed, okay. It’s the same structure ‘let something be done.’ Let
something, what is something? Your mind be changed, okay. So you have ‘be’ with the
verb in the third form. With allow we have, the mother never allows her baby to be harmed.
Every mother is protective of her child, so the mother never allows her baby, okay, allow
something to be done. Okay, allows something to be done. Okay, so harmed is your past participle.
So there are different structures, let something be done, allow something to be done, don’t
forget the ‘to’ here, in both the cases you have verb in the past participle be one,
okay. Only with ‘allow’ you use ‘to’, with ‘let’ you do not use ‘to’. Well
friends, I hope this lesson is clear to you and this brings me to the end of another lesson.
I hope you enjoyed watching it. Do take the test and let me know your scores. I’ll be
back soon with a new lesson, till then take care and bye.