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Allow

Which sentence is correct and why?

1- We are not allowed listening to music in this building.
2- we are not allowed to listen to music in this building.

Thanks


Re: Allow

In the first sentence the verb -ing form indicates "abitual action"; in the second not, that is in this moment it's forbidden "to list music"

Re: Allow

(1) as a FULL sentence would be :
"We are not allowed THE listening to music in this building. "
So, 'listening' is a gerund in your sentence, and so a NOUN.

Now - what may be confusing you is reading a sentence such as this:
"On this diet, we are not allowed ice cream."

Here, 'ice cream' is a noun, just as in (1); but the FULL sentence would be:
"On this diet, we are not allowed TO EAT ice cream."

The meaning of 'allow' in your sentence:
allow : let (someone) DO something ( that is, an ACTION, as in 'to listen' and 'to eat')

That is why, whenever we use 'allow' in sentences in the Active Voice, such as yours, we always use the infinitive, not the gerund.

compare Passive Voice:
"Listening to rock music is not allowed in this convent school."

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