17 - "permit", "allow" and "enable" cannot be followed by an infinitive
Section outline
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Unlike in French, in which "permettre de..." can be followed by an infinitive, this structure is not possible in English. It is not possible to say, for example, "the data permits to measure the relationship between x and y".
The same is true for allow and enable.
These verbs generally have to be followed by a noun, which may then be the subject of a clause with a passive infinitive. Thus, the above idea may be re-written as: "the data permits the relationship between x and y to be measured".
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