"Pozwalają dzieciom pomagać sprzątać."

Translation: They allow children to help clean.

[siebenneun]

How generous :D

[HarveyPenf1]

they are allowing?

[Jellei]

OK, added.

[ZUYlN1]

An expert use of English is also the variation 'to help with the cleaning'.

[alik1989]

It's an accepted answer.

[jimdon77]

They're allowing the children to help clean?

[Jellei]

OK, added.

[Iva52893]

"They allow the children to help clean" was not accepted.

[Jellei]

It's an accepted answer, it should have worked.

[richard.birks]

Is it a general rule of thumb that verbs that imply giving something intangible (like permission) take the dative?

[Jellei]

Well, but "permission" itself would get Accusative, the people receiving this permission would take Dative.

Dative is for the indirect object, and children are the indirect object of the action of 'allowing'.

[richard.birks]

That's what I mean :-)

When we use the verb allow, we implicitly give permission, but don't say it explicitly.

For other verbs where something intangible (like permission) is granted, or given (etc) to the subject, is the subject generally declined in the dative in Polish?

[Jellei]

I believe so, although it would be better to discuss it on specific verbs.

[JanKLinde]

"...to help THEM clean" would sound much better.

[Jellei]

Perhaps, but frankly, nothing guarantees it's "to help them clean". Sure, it's the most probable situation, but it still can be "Okay kids, we allow you to go to your uncle and help him clean his attic".

[eannaoc]

"They allow children help clean" is a natural way of saying this also