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#2 (permalink) Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:51 am allow for |
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Hi lost_soul,
Your sentences:
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| 1. I'm sorry for not allowing for the other 3 sheets or 2. I'm sorry for forgetting to allow for the other 3 sheets |
could, I believe, be expressed more simply as follows:
I'm sorry I didn't allow for ...
I'm sorry I forgot to allow for ...
Having said that, I don't quite follow your use of 'allow for' in your examples. 'Allow for' suggests make preparations in advance in terms of quantity or time as in:
I'm late because I didn't allow for the traffic jams on the motorway
I've run out of sandwiches because when I made them I didn't allow for the the large number of unexpected guests.
Alan _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Present Simple |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 13891 Location: UK
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#3 (permalink) Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:53 am usage of "allow for" |
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. I see what you are getting at, but I don't think 'allow for' works here. I presume the point is that you processed one sheet but forgot to process the other 3? You forgot outright, but 'allow for' means that one is aware of the situation/item/etc but does not provide the opportunity/time/etc necessary to accommodate it.
If it were a matter of time, for instance-- that is, if you knew you had 4 sheets to process, but only had or made time to process one-- you could say that you 'did not allow for the other 3 sheets e.g. when you promised to complete the effort'. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's |
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Mister Micawber Language Coach
Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 13015
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#4 (permalink) Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:05 am usage of "allow for" |
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Hi Alan and Mister Micawber,
Thank you for your replies. :) I hear you.
While writing I was having second thoughts that using allow for is wrong in that sentense... (but the russian translation I got from my dictionary fits perfectly - that's why I made that choice) I guess the best variant would be I'm sorry I forgot to process the other 3 sheets wouldn't it? |
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Lost_Soul I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 1861 Location: South Park, Colorado, USA
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| meaning of "trade in" | Phrase "A close, small head" |