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usage of "allow for"



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
meaning of "trade in" | Phrase "A close, small head"
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usage of "allow for" Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:38 am  usage of "allow for"		  
Could I use "allow for" with the meaning "take into consideration"
For example: There are 4 sheets in the file I had to process the other day, but I took into account only the first sheet forgetting about the others. While apologising for this lapse, can I say 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

Which of those sentenses do you prefer? If none of them fits, could you propose your own variant of a reply, please?

Thank you and have a nice day Smile
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allow for Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:51 am  allow for		  
Hi lost_soul,

Your sentences:

Quote:
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
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usage of "allow for" Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:53 am  usage of "allow for"		  
.
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'.
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usage of "allow for" Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:05 am  usage of "allow for"		  
Hi Alan and Mister Micawber,

Thank you for your replies. Smile 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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