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ESL forum > Message board > COULD YOU HELP ME?    

COULD YOU HELP ME?



pilarmham
Spain

COULD YOU HELP ME?
 
Is this sentence correct?

We are not allowed smoking in the library.

Or should we say

We are not allowed to smoke in the library?

The first sentence doesn �t sound quite right, but on the other hand, I know that both

We don �t allow smoking / to smoke in the library

are correct.

Wacko

Please?




15 Jan 2013      





EstherLee76
Peru

The first one is correct.
 
The second one is not correct
 
The third one should be "We don �t allow smoking in the libray"
 
 

15 Jan 2013     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

The first one is wrong. The right sentence is �We are not allowed to smoke in the library � 

�We don �t allow smoking � is correct. �We don�t allow to smoke� is wrong. 

15 Jan 2013     



pilarmham
Spain

What about this other possibility?

We don �t allow people to smoke / smoking in the library.

I �m going crazy with this structure and all its possible combinations!

Thank you again and again!


15 Jan 2013     



sousou aicha
Tunisia

We don �t allow people  to smoke.
The rule is: (not) allow someone to do something.
Hope it is useful.
"We don �t allow smoking" means that it is a law in the library: smoking is not allowed.

15 Jan 2013     



yanogator
United States

So, the following are correct:
 
We are not allowed to smoke...
 
We don �t allow smoking...
 
We don �t allow people to smoke...
 
The following are incorrect:
 
We are not allowed smoking...
We don �t allow to smoke...
 
 
Bruce

15 Jan 2013     



pilarmham
Spain

Thank you everyone, one last question?
Michael Swan says it is a mistake to say:

*It is not allowed to smoke in the library

This was the last straw for me...

Could you explain this?




15 Jan 2013     



ueslteacher
Ukraine

I guess "allow" just can �t be used in impersonal passive constructions. "It" here acts as a normal subject suggesting some "thing" is not to smoke in the library:) 
E. g. The first time my cat went to the library it found out that it is not allowed to smoke in the library... It was really shocked:)
Sophia

15 Jan 2013