Allow Doing vs. Allow Someone To Do
“Allow” can take an activity as its object, as in “allow smoking,” or a person/thing followed by a to-infinitive, as in “allow visitors to enter.” The patterns answer different structural questions: what is allowed versus who is allowed to do what.
Use “allow + activity/-ing” when what is permitted is the activity itself, and “allow + person + to-infinitive” when you name who receives permission.
Key details
Choose the right form
| What is permitted | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the activity itself | allow + noun/-ing | allow parking / allow smoking |
| a person or thing to act | allow + object + to-infinitive | allow visitors to enter |
Quick tests
Permission-holder test
Do you name who or what receives permission to act?
If yes: Use “allow + object + to-infinitive.”
If no: If the permitted thing is the activity itself, use a noun or -ing form after “allow.”
Caveat: Bare “allow to do” does not express the ordinary permission pattern unless the required object is supplied.
Examples
The building does not allow smoking.
The activity itself is what is permitted or prohibited.
The pass allows visitors to enter after 9 a.m.
The sentence names who is permitted to act.
The pass allows to enter after 9 a.m.
Better: The pass allows visitors to enter after 9 a.m.
The ordinary object + infinitive pattern is missing its object.
Further guidance
Activity Pattern
Use allow + an activity or -ing form when the permitted thing is the activity itself, such as allowing smoking or parking.
Boundary
Do not drop the object from the object + to-infinitive pattern and write bare “allow to do” for the permission sense; either name the activity or name who is allowed to act.
Person Pattern
Use allow + person/thing + to-infinitive when you identify the person or thing that is permitted or enabled to act.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- allow — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary · Allow with an activity/object and allow someone to do something; permission pattern boundary