{"id":3677,"date":"2018-01-17T23:39:12","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T22:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/?p=3677"},"modified":"2018-01-17T23:39:12","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T22:39:12","slug":"to-allow-or-not-to-allow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2018\/01\/17\/to-allow-or-not-to-allow\/","title":{"rendered":"To allow or not to allow?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>\u2026 at my would-be coauthors, would someone please tell them, and every non-native-English-speaker-but-aspiring-English-author, to read this? Please, please, please, please, please. In English the verb \u201callow\u201d cannot take an infinitive as a complement. Ever. You may not write \u201cmy method allows to improve productivity\u201d (even if it\u2019s true, which it probably isn\u2019t, but never mind). [\u2026]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sorgente: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bertrandmeyer.com\/2018\/01\/16\/before-i-start-screaming-once-again\/\">Bertrand Meyer&#8217;s technology+ blog \u00bb Blog Archive Before I start screaming once again&#8230; &#8211; Bertrand Meyer&#8217;s technology+ blog<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Wow. That&#8217;s a constructive way to criticize \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2026 at my would-be coauthors, would someone please tell them, and every non-native-English-speaker-but-aspiring-English-author, to read this? Please, please, please, please, please.<\/p>\n<p>In English the verb \u201callow\u201d cannot take an infinitive as a complement. Ever. You may not write \u201cmy method allows to improve productivity\u201d (even if it\u2019s true, which it probably isn\u2019t, but never mind). Ever. You may write the equivalent in French, German, Russian, Italian and whatever, but not in English. Ever. In English you do not \u201callow to\u201d do something. Ever. You allow <em>someone<\/em> or <em>something<\/em> to do something. Maybe, or maybe not, your method allows its <em>users<\/em> to improve productivity. That\u2019s correct English. It is also OK to use a gerund [1]: your method allows <em>improving<\/em> productivity. Actually that sounds clumsy but at least it is grammatically correct.<\/p>\n<p>The reason the gerund does not sound quite right here is that\u00a0 in situations where foreign speakers instinctively think \u201callow to\u2026\u201d in their mother tongues and transport it directly to English, the native English speaker instinctively comes up with\u00a0 something\u00a0 different. Typically, one of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Allow <em>someone<\/em> to, using a specific word instead of \u201csomeone\u201d. The English language has a concrete slant and favors expressing all details, including some that in other languages remain implicit.<\/li>\n<li><em>Make it possible to<\/em>:\u00a0 a bit wordy, but common and convenient, and definitely correct when followed by an infinitive (\u201cmy method makes it possible to improve productivity\u201d). We politely leave it unsaid what the \u201cit\u201d is that is being made possible. This turn of phrase is the easiest if you want to remain as close to the original \u201callow to\u2026\u201d in your native language. Consider \u201cmake it possible to\u201d as a mechanical translation of \u201callow to\u201d. It works.<\/li>\n<li><em>Support<\/em> something. Remember this word. It is used more widely in English than its typical translations in other languages. Often it fits just where you initially would come up with \u201callow to\u201d. Your method may support policies for improving productivity.<\/li>\n<li>The gerund. It will sound less clumsy if what you are \u201callowing\u201d is truly a process, and you are using \u201callow\u201d in its direct sense of giving permission [2], rather than in the more general and weaker sense of supporting. The rules of tennis allow playing in either singles or doubles.<\/li>\n<li>Generalizing the gerund, a plain noun (substantive). You can, in fact, allow <em>something<\/em>. Your methodology allows productivity improvements. Like the gerund, it does not sound as good as the other forms (\u201csupport\u201d is better unless there truly is a notion of permission), but it is correct.<\/li>\n<li>Or\u2026 nothing at all. Paraphrased from a text seen recently: \u201csome techniques only allow to model internal properties, others allow to model external properties too\u201d. So much better (in any language): some techniques only model internal properties, others also cover external ones. Whoever wrote the first variant should not, in the next three years, be allowed anywhere near the word \u201callow\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some people go around the issue by using \u201callow <em>for<\/em> doing something\u201d. That usage is acceptable in American English (less so in British English) but has no advantage over just \u201callow doing something\u201d. By default, \u201callow for\u201d means something else: tolerating some possible variation in an estimate, as in \u201cyou should plan two hours for your drive, allowing for traffic\u201d. As a substitute for \u201callowing to\u201d this phrase has no advantage over the solutions listed above.<\/p>\n<p>On last count, I had corrected \u201callow to\u201d in drafts from coworkers, using one of these solutions, approximately 5,843,944,027 times (allowing for a few cases that I might have forgotten). Enough! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please. Make a note of this. It will allow me to live better, it will allow you to avoid my wrath, it\u00a0 will make it possible for us to work together again, it will support a better understanding among the people in the world, it will allow faster refereeing and a better peer review process, it covers all needs, and it still allows for human imperfection.<\/p>\n<h4>Notes<\/h4>\n<p>[1] Or gerundive, or present participle: a word form resulting from addition of the suffix \u201c-ing\u201d to a verb radical.<\/p>\n<p>[2] Note that beyond \u201callow\u201d this discussion also applies to the verb \u201cpermit\u201d. You permit someone to do something.<\/p>\n<p>[3] Post-publication, Oscar Nierstrasz mentioned on Facebook that he has a <a href=\"http:\/\/scg.unibe.ch\/wiki\/howtos\/commonwritingerrors\/neverSayAllowsToAgain\" target=\"blog_illustrations\">Web page<\/a> addressing the same point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"excerpt\">\u2026 at my would-be coauthors, would someone please tell them, and every non-native-English-speaker-but-aspiring-English-author, to read this? Please, please, please, please, please. In English the verb \u201callow\u201d cannot take an infinitive as a complement. Ever. You may not write \u201cmy method allows to improve productivity\u201d (even if it\u2019s true, which it probably isn\u2019t, but never mind).&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2018\/01\/17\/to-allow-or-not-to-allow\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[72,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-documentations","category-eiffel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6daft-Xj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15294,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2026\/03\/09\/yes-ai-is-intelligent-prove-me-wrong-bertrand-meyers-technology-blog\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":0},"title":"Yes, AI is intelligent. Prove me wrong. &#8211; Bertrand Meyer&#8217;s technology+ blog","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2026-03-09","format":"link","excerpt":"Yes, AI is intelligent. Prove me wrong. - Bertrand Meyer's technology+ blog Yes, AI is intelligent. Prove me wrong. 26 February 2026 It must be a sign of how terrified people are of Modern-AI, and running out of arguments to decry it, that we now read and hear, ever more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Senza categoria&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Senza categoria","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/senza-categoria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8484,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2021\/06\/06\/adjective-order\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":1},"title":"Adjective order","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2021-06-06","format":false,"excerpt":"Today Firefox, being a Pocket user, suggested me this This Is the Most Bizarre Grammar Rule You Probably Never Heard Of which cite this tweet @MattAndersonNYT \"Things native English speakers know, but don't know we know:\" 11:26 AM \u00b7 3 set 2016\u00b7 I'm not an English native speaker but I've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Fun&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Fun","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/fun\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/adjective-order-in-english.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/adjective-order-in-english.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/adjective-order-in-english.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/adjective-order-in-english.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11869,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2024\/08\/16\/name-hijacking\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":2},"title":"Name hijacking","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2024-08-16","format":false,"excerpt":"I like the programming language named Eiffel, at least since 1998. Now I discover its name is somehow being robbed by a CI\/CD project. I simply had to let Bertrand Meyer, father of Eiffel know it. The easiest way I found is throught X (once known as Twitter): Dear professor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Eiffel&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Eiffel","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/eiffel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5898,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2019\/08\/19\/top-cryptocurrencies-rated-by-white-paper-complexity\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":3},"title":"Top Cryptocurrencies Rated by White Paper Complexity","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2019-08-19","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00abTop Cryptocurrencies Rated by White Paper Complexity\u00bb is an interesting read. It subtitle recites: Studying the correlation between the readability of white papers and the money raised. It seems that when you write in English the dumber the better. While I must admit that often English allow to express yourself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mood&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mood","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/mood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/miro.medium.com\/max\/60\/1%2Ava3fyXmTX9u4c6FhKPBXAQ.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/miro.medium.com\/max\/60\/1%2Ava3fyXmTX9u4c6FhKPBXAQ.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/miro.medium.com\/max\/60\/1%2Ava3fyXmTX9u4c6FhKPBXAQ.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/miro.medium.com\/max\/60\/1%2Ava3fyXmTX9u4c6FhKPBXAQ.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10548,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2023\/06\/18\/the-developers-code-what-real-programmers-do-by-ka-wai-cheung\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":4},"title":"The Developer&#8217;s Code: What Real Programmers Do by Ka Wai Cheung","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2023-06-18","format":false,"excerpt":"Legendum est, that is \"it must be read\". That's why it's in \"legenda\" category, which literally means \"Things that must be read\". That's the power of gerundive verb inflection of Latin. Latin is such a beafutiful, precise and concise language. It's a shame it went \"out of fashion\". English is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Legenda&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Legenda","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/legenda\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13499,"url":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/2025\/06\/02\/design-by-contract-dbc-v-test-driven-design-tdd-wolands-cat\/","url_meta":{"origin":3677,"position":5},"title":"Design-by-Contract (DbC) v Test-Driven Design (TDD) | Woland&#8217;s cat","author":"Paolo Redaelli","date":"2025-06-02","format":false,"excerpt":"Design-by-Contract (DbC) v Test-Driven Design (TDD) from\u00a0 Woland's cat shortly: DbC = contracts + tests Design-by-Contract (DbC) v Test-Driven Design\u00a0(TDD) Posted on 04\/03\/2021 by wolandscat A software contract in the Eiffel language Another bit of software engineering knowledge from my archive relates to two well-known formal quality methods used in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Eiffel&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Eiffel","link":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/category\/eiffel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/eiffel_contract.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/eiffel_contract.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/eiffel_contract.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/eiffel_contract.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monodes.com\/predaelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}