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A class trip to the Smithsonian: be allowed to and can for permission

Students learn be allowed to for permission, with can and can't, in this A2 ESL lesson plan about a class trip to the Smithsonian.

Grammar
Am, is or are (not) allowed to + verb (We're allowed to take photos.), Are we allowed to…? with short answers, can and can't for permission, and the verb allow.
Topic
A class trip to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., whose museums are almost all free, with words such as field trip, permission slip, chaperone and glass case.
Activities
A teacher's trip notice, a dialogue at the Hope Diamond, a viewer's voice message, self-checking drills, a chat that builds a rules card and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Welcome to the Smithsonian!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: a class tripVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the trip notice

    • Look at the photo: the Smithsonian CastlePictureUnlock
    • Read the teacher's notice for parentsReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: hands off the diamond!

    • Look at the photo: the Hope DiamondPictureUnlock
    • Listen to Marco and HaileyListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Viewer's QuestionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Are we allowed to touch it?

    • Study the scheme: be allowed to and canGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: be allowed to or canFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: be allowed toFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: class trip rules

    • Choose the right replies: a rules card for a class tripChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: rules, rules, rules!Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: say it in another wayFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Sort the rules: allowed or not allowedSort into columnsUnlock
    • Sort the rules into the teacher's listSort into columnsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: a permission slipDrag and dropUnlock

31 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Museum vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • permission slip
  • chaperone
  • diamond
  • jeweler
  • glass case
  • skeleton
  • habitat

Grammar: be allowed to and can for permission

Be allowed to says that something is permitted, usually by a rule: Students are allowed to take photos. Can says the same thing in a shorter, everyday way: Can we eat here? – No, you can't. On a museum trip full of class rules, learners put am, is or are before allowed to, ask for permission and say each rule both ways.

We're allowed to take photos. Can we eat here?

Is it OK? be allowed to + verb and can + verb. ✅ Yes, you can. ❌ No, you can't.

Am, is or are + allowed to

The pattern is be + allowed to + the base verb: I am allowed to take photos. He isn't allowed to play games. We aren't allowed to leave the group. Only be changes with the person, and allowed always keeps its -ed. In speech, it's I'm, we're and he isn't.

Every person

Who✅ allowed to❌ not allowed tocan / can't
II am allowed to take photos.I am not allowed to run.I can take photos. I can't run.
youYou are allowed to sit here.You aren't allowed to eat here.You can sit here. You can't eat here.
heHe is allowed to bring a phone.He isn't allowed to play games.He can bring a phone. He can't play games.
sheShe is allowed to go in.She isn't allowed to touch it.She can go in. She can't touch it.
it (the dog)It is allowed to wait outside.It isn't allowed to come in.It can wait outside. It can't come in.
weWe are allowed to sit on the grass.We aren't allowed to leave the group.We can sit on the grass. We can't leave the group.
theyThey are allowed to visit the zoo.They aren't allowed to touch the glass.They can visit the zoo. They can't touch the glass.

Short forms

I'm allowed to = I am allowed to. You're, he's, she's, we're, they're allowed to. Negative: I'm not, he isn't, we aren't allowed to. can't = cannot.

Questions and short answers about permission

To ask, put am, is or are first: Are we allowed to take photos? Is he allowed to bring a phone? The short answer repeats the same verb: Yes, you are. No, he isn't. With can, it repeats can: Can I touch it? – No, you can't.

Question✅ Yes❌ No
Am I allowed to sit here?Yes, you are.No, you aren't.
Is he allowed to bring a phone?Yes, he is.No, he isn't.
Are we allowed to take photos?Yes, you are.No, you aren't.
Are they allowed to eat here?Yes, they are.No, they aren't.
Can we eat here?Yes, you can.No, you can't.
Can I touch it?Yes, you can.No, you can't.

Can or be allowed to?

Both ask whether something is OK. Can is short and everyday (Can we eat here?), while be allowed to often states a rule (Students are allowed to take photos.). After can there's no to, but allowed needs one: can go, allowed to go.

allowed to or can?

Both are for permission: is it OK? can is short and everyday: Can we eat here? be allowed to is often for rules: Students are allowed to take photos. After can, the verb has no to: can go (not: can to go). After allowed, use to + verb: allowed to go (not: allowed go).

The verb allow

Allow means let someone do something, and it turns the sentence around: Hailey allows photos means her students are allowed to take photos. Its negative takes doesn't or don't: Hailey doesn't allow food in the halls.

The verb allow

allow = let someone do something. Hailey allows photos. = Her students are allowed to take photos. Hailey doesn't allow food in the halls. = Her students aren't allowed to eat there.

Not allowed or not necessary?

Aren't allowed to and can't mean it's against the rules: You can't touch the glass. Don't have to only means it isn't necessary: The museum is free, so you don't have to pay.

aren't allowed to or don't have to?

aren't allowed to / can't = no, it's against the rules: You can't touch the glass. don't have to = it isn't necessary, but it's OK: The museum is free, so you don't have to pay.

On the class trip

  • Hailey's students are allowed to take photos.
  • Marco isn't allowed to touch the Hope Diamond.
  • Are we allowed to sit on the grass? – Yes, you are.
  • Can we eat here? – No, you can't.
  • Dogs can't come in, so Biscuit waits outside.
  • Everyone is allowed to visit the Insect Zoo.

Common mistakes

  • We are allow to take photos.

    We are allowed to take photos.

    allowed, with -ed

  • We allowed to eat here.

    We are allowed to eat here.

    don't forget am / is / are

  • Are we allowed touch it?

    Are we allowed to touch it?

    allowed + to + verb

  • It's allowed to touch it.

    We're allowed to touch it.

    start with who does it: I, you, we, the students, the dog…

More lessons on this grammar: Modal verbs lessons and exercises

Try the allowed to exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 3 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what is permitted with be allowed to: Students are allowed to take photos. He isn't allowed to play games.
  • ask for permission and answer: Are we allowed to sit on the grass? – Yes, you are. Can we eat here? – No, you can't.
  • say a rule in other words, with can or allow: We can sit on the grass. My parents don't allow pets in the house.
  • make rules for a class trip: Nobody is allowed to leave the group. You can't eat in the halls.

In School in America, unit 6 of English A2.2 · Curious Minds, lesson 23 is the third of four. It builds on A1.2 lesson 4, which practiced requests and permission with Can I…? and Can you…?, and on the rules of lessons 21 and 22: have to, must and mustn't. Lesson 24 then turns to past duties with had to. A teacher's trip rules are mostly about what students may and may not do, the very job of be allowed to.

First comes a spin of the wheel about museums and field trips; then students meet ten words with pictures and audio, such as touch, allow, chaperone and habitat. The reading is a teacher's notice to parents about a free trip to the National Museum of Natural History. In the AI-voiced listenings, Marco and Hailey, the teacher, talk at the Hope Diamond, and a viewer from North Dakota asks a question.

Four self-checking drills follow the scheme, one of them a table of allowed to for every person, with questions in its last column. For speaking, a chat turns the students' replies into a rules card for a teacher's next class trip, and open boxes ask about the rules at their own school and home.

Homework has nine tasks that check themselves, among them can turned into be allowed to, rules sorted into allowed and not allowed and into a teacher's list, and a permission slip completed by drag-and-drop.

Grammar:
be allowed to · can / can't for permission · Are we allowed to…? · Can we…? · allow
Topic:
Smithsonian · Washington, D.C. · class trip · Hope Diamond · museums · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Collect classroom rules first: students call out what they can and can't do in class, and you say each one again with allowed to: We can't use phones becomes We aren't allowed to use phones.
  • Brainstorm what a class trip needs before the notice: a permission slip, chaperones, money? The notice answers all three, and the museum turns out to be free.
  • Act out the Hope Diamond scene: one student plays an excited visitor asking Can I touch it?, the other a strict teacher answering No, you can't. Nobody is allowed to touch the glass.
  • Make a rules card for your own class trip: groups take the museum box, agree on three rules with are allowed to, aren't allowed to and can't, then read them to the class.

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23 · you're hereA class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

How do you use "be allowed to"?
Use be + allowed to + the base verb to say something is permitted: We're allowed to take photos. He isn't allowed to play games. Are we allowed to sit on the grass? – Yes, you are. Be changes with the person, but allowed keeps its -ed and its to. The A2 lesson A class trip to the Smithsonian on edio.ai practices it with a teacher's rules for a museum trip.
What does "allowed to" mean?
Allowed to means permitted: someone or a rule says it's OK. Students are allowed to take photos means photos are OK, and Students aren't allowed to play games on their phones means games are against the rules. It comes from the verb allow, let someone do something, so The teacher allows photos and Students are allowed to take photos describe the same rule.
Can you use can for permission?
Yes: can is the everyday word for permission. Can we eat here? – No, you can't. You can sit on the grass. It means about the same as be allowed to, which sounds more like a rule: Students are allowed to take photos. Can is the same for every person and takes no to: He can bring a phone, not He cans bring or He can to bring.
How do you ask for permission in English?
Ask with Can I…? or Am I allowed to…? plus a base verb: Can I touch it? Am I allowed to walk with your class? Are we allowed to take photos? The answers are Yes, you can or No, you can't, and Yes, you are or No, you aren't. In A class trip to the Smithsonian, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a visitor asks both ways in the museum dialogue.
Is it "allowed" or "aloud"?
Allowed means permitted; aloud means out loud, so others can hear. The two words sound the same, but only allowed goes with to and a verb: We're allowed to take photos. Aloud goes with verbs like read and say: Read the rules aloud. A quick test: if permitted fits the sentence, the word is allowed.
Is it "We are allow to" or "We are allowed to"?
It's We are allowed to, always with -ed: We are allowed to take photos. Two other slips are common: dropping are (We allowed to eat here) and dropping to (Are we allowed touch it?). The full pattern has three parts, be, allowed and to + verb, and the drills in A class trip to the Smithsonian on edio.ai test each one.
Can you say "It's allowed to touch it"?
No: start with the person who has the permission, not it: We're allowed to touch it, not It's allowed to touch it. Rules for everyone work the same way: Students aren't allowed to run in the halls. Nobody is allowed to leave the group. To talk about the action instead, use the -ing form: Touching the glass isn't allowed.
What museum vocabulary do students need for a class trip?
Start with words for what's on show and what's not allowed: a glass case (a see-through box for museum objects), a skeleton, a diamond, a habitat (a natural home for animals or plants) and the verb touch, as in Don't touch the glass. A school visit adds field trip, permission slip (a parent's written OK) and chaperone, an adult helper on the trip.
How do I teach be allowed to and can for permission?
Turn familiar rules into permission sentences: We can't use phones in class becomes We aren't allowed to use phones in class. Then add questions with short answers (Are you allowed to…? – No, I'm not.) and the verb allow. A class trip to the Smithsonian on edio.ai brings the forms in through a teacher's notice and a museum dialogue, before the scheme.
What's a good game for practicing allowed to?
A true-or-false game about house rules is a good one: each student says a rule from home, true or invented (I'm allowed to stay up late on Fridays.), and the class guesses with Are you really allowed to…? Open boxes work too, with prompts like At home: say one thing you're allowed to do and one thing you can't do, one of this lesson's boxes.
What's good homework for practicing be allowed to?
Sorting and rewording tasks that check themselves suit it well: sorting rules into allowed and not allowed, turning We can sit on the grass into We are allowed to sit on the grass, and grouping a teacher's rules under before the trip, on the bus and in the museum. A permission slip to complete by drag-and-drop closes the homework of A class trip to the Smithsonian on edio.ai.
Are there interactive exercises for be allowed to?
Yes: online drills with instant feedback catch a missing to or -ed at once. Four parts of the A2 lesson A class trip to the Smithsonian on edio.ai can be tried on this page without an account: the teacher's trip notice, Marco and Hailey's dialogue at the Hope Diamond, a gap-fill with be allowed to or can, and a chat that builds a rules card for a class trip. The rest is locked.
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