Whats the difference?

Hi, this is Finn with another BBC English Class. Now today we’re looking at the verbs let and allow . They’re both used to talk about permission - but what is the difference? I know you’re a busy person - so I’m going to teach you one important difference in just 90 seconds.

Starting now. OK, so what’s the difference?

Here’s the one main point: allow - passive, allow - passive. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that we often use the verb allow in the passive voice. Now it’s a bit more formal than let . And we don’t really use let in the passive.

Still a bit confusing? OK, let’s look at an example… Imagine I’m a landlord - and you want to stay in my apartment. So I have some rules for you.

Now I could just use the active voice and say: “I allow you to cook in the kitchen.” Or: “I don’t allow you to smoke in the bedroom.”

But when we’re giving things like rules it’s quite normal to use the passive because we know who’s doing the allowing. The agent is known. So we don’t really need to say: “I allow you.” We could use the passive and say: “You are allowed to smoke …” No you’re not. “You are allowed to cook in the kitchen.” Or: “You are not allowed to smoke in the bedroom.”

Twenty-four seconds left.

So, could we use let in the same situation? Could we say let in the passive voice?

“You are let to cook in the kitchen.”

Or: “You’re not let to smoke in the bedroom.”

No we couldn’t do that, so just remember: we use allow in the passive voice but we don’t use let .

I think I did it just in time. So there we are: allow - passive. Just remember that. And because I squeezed my language point into 90 seconds I think I will allow myself a little treat! See you next time.