Multiple Meanings Of The Verb To Allow

Have you every thought about the verb, to allow?  How do you use it in English? Do you use it in a positive context such as "I allow her to drive the car." Or do you use it in a negative context, "She is young, but I allowed her to drive the car." Does either of these two sentences imply anything to you?


The second sentence has the word "but" in there. So you know  the speaker doesn't want to let the girl drive the car by herself. In Chinese if you can leave out the "but" and have  the verb to allow: 讓(T) 让(S) [ràng] the audience knows the speaker may be implying s/he didn't want the event to occur.


For example:
她小， 我讓她開車。(T)
她小， 我让她开车。(S)
tā xiǎo, wǒ ràng tā kāichē
She's young, I allow her to drive the car.


I find it interesting to allow in Chinese has other meanings. It can mean to yield or to permit.  In English, we don't use yield, permit, and allow interchangeably.