VERBS
OF ENABLING AND OBLIGATION IN ENGLISH
Verbs of enablement and obligation
often cause problems for students.
In English, they have some rather peculiar structures that may not
correspond
to structures in your own language. Here are the basic rules, to help
you
master these important verbs.
1. Verbs of obligation
and permission:
allow, ask, authorise, forbid, instruct, invite, leave, oblige, permit,
require, tell, want, etc.:
After these verbs, the second verb is in the infinitive with
to.
Examples:
He told
me to hurry.
They forbade us to
leave the room.
The man instructed me to
come down.
I want you to
know I love you.
N.B. With all these verbs, the subordinate clause must be introduced
by a subject, which is also the object of the main
clause:
for example, we cannot say:
** The man permitted to
open the doors
**
** I told not to do that **
All the verbs listed can be easily used in the passive except want.
Examples:
The singer was told
to come down.
He was invited to give
a concert.
She was forbidden to
leave
the room.
I was required to fill
in a form.
They were asked to sit
down.
2. Verbs of prevention: stop, prevent,
hinder:
These verbs are followed by “from”
and an -ing structure.
The word “from” is essential with hinder,
optional with stop
and prevent.
Examples:
He hindered
us from starting
in time.
He stopped me
(from) falling in the hole.
They prevented me (from)
going out.
“Stop”
is not usually used in the
passive, but hinder
and prevent
easily accept passive structures:
Examples:
The hooligans were prevented
from making trouble.
We were hindered
by the bad weather.
3. Verbs of direct
authority:
let, make,
have.
With these 3 verbs, the
second verb form is the infinitive without to.
Examples:
I let
him do
it.
He made me sit
down.
Have him tell
you what he saw!
Of these three verbs, only one can be used in the passive, make
: Example,
I was made to take
off my skates.
Don’t confuse let
and leave: when followed by an object
and a subsidiary clause, leave means abandon,
quit.
We left
him to
get on with his work. (i.e. we went away) does not mean the
same as
We let him get on with
his work (i.e. we allowed him to....)
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