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"Let" is to permit casually or personally; "allow" is to permit formally or with authority.
Side-by-side comparison
To give permission or not prevent something. Informal, personal, direct. Always followed by bare infinitive (no "to").
Let me help you with those bags. They look heavy.
Her parents do not let her go out after 10pm.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes before baking.
To give permission, especially in official, rule-based, or formal contexts.
Photography is not allowed inside the museum.
The new law allows citizens to vote at age 16.
The manager allowed the team to leave early on Friday.
Common mistake
"Let me to go" is wrong: after "let" the infinitive does NOT take "to". Correct: "let me go". After "allow" the "to" IS required: "allow me to go". Both errors are common.
Trick to remember it
- •Fixed rule: "let" + object + bare infinitive (no "to").
- •"Allow" + object + to + infinitive.
- •"Let him leave" / "Allow him to leave." Tone: "let" = informal, personal.
- •"Allow" = formal, official.
Quick rule
- •"Let" + bare infinitive = permit casually.
- •"Allow" + to + infinitive = permit formally.
Did you know?
"Let It Be" by the Beatles (1970) is one of the most famous examples of LET in its deepest philosophical sense: allowing things to be as they are, without interference. "Let it be" is not the same as "allow it to be", that would sound like bureaucratic approval of existence. The intimacy and flow of LET means ALLOW cannot replace it in this emotional context. Other examples of LET in its broader sense: "let go" (release), "let it slide" (overlook it), "let it rain" (may it rain), "live and let live." In all these cases, LET conveys active acceptance, not formal authorization.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The teacher _____ ed the students to use their dictionaries during the test.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Please _____ me help you with those bags. They look heavy.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'Have something done' and 'get something done' mean someone else does something for you; 'get' is more informal.
'Let' means to allow; 'leave' means to go away from somewhere, or to put something down and not take it with you.
Causative verbs have fixed structures: 'make/let' + bare infinitive; 'get/allow' + 'to' + infinitive.
'Make', 'have', and 'let' take a bare infinitive; 'get', 'force', and 'allow' take 'to' + infinitive.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy