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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

dürfen

may, to be allowed to

  • #24 most used
  • Modal verb
  • Past participle: gedurft

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I may
  2. du you may
  3. er, sie, es he/she may
  4. wir we may
  5. ihr you all may
  6. sie, Sie they may

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I was allowed to
  2. du you were allowed to
  3. er, sie, es he/she was allowed to
  4. wir we were allowed to
  5. ihr you all were allowed to
  6. sie, Sie they were allowed to

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I was allowed to
  2. du you were allowed to
  3. er, sie, es he/she was allowed to
  4. wir we were allowed to
  5. ihr you all were allowed to
  6. sie, Sie they were allowed to

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I will be allowed to
  2. du you will be allowed to
  3. er, sie, es he/she will be allowed to
  4. wir we will be allowed to
  5. ihr you all will be allowed to
  6. sie, Sie they will be allowed to

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I would be allowed to
  2. du you would be allowed to
  3. er, sie, es he/she would be allowed to
  4. wir we would be allowed to
  5. ihr you all would be allowed to
  6. sie, Sie they would be allowed to

How to use dürfen

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Darf ich hier kurz parken?

    May I park here briefly?

  2. Simple past

    Als Kind durfte ich nie lange aufbleiben.

    As a child I was never allowed to stay up late.

  3. Perfect

    Das haben wir früher nicht gedurft.

    We weren't allowed to do that in the past.

  4. Future

    Bald wirst du allein fahren dürfen.

    Soon you'll be allowed to drive on your own.

  5. Conditional

    Dürfte ich bitte das Fenster öffnen?

    Might I open the window, please?

Good to know

  • Darf ich? is the polite may I; man darf hier nicht rauchen, smoking isn't allowed here.
  • Dürfte is the softest way to ask: dürfte ich kurz stören?

Where you hear dürfen

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

German · Beginner Level 1

  • Am Sonntag darf man das nicht! You're not allowed to do that on Sundays!
  • Am Sonntag durfte ich das nicht. On Sunday I wasn't allowed to do that.
  • Am Montag dürfen Sie das. On Monday you're allowed to.

German · Beginner Level 2

  • Am Sonntag darf man das nicht! You're not allowed to do that on Sundays!
  • Am Sonntag durfte ich das nicht. On Sunday I wasn't allowed to do that.
  • Am Montag dürfen Sie das. On Monday you're allowed to.
23
Buying the Present

Beginner Level 2 · Guten Tag, Herr Becker! Was darf es sein?

Needs a subscription 5
The Fish Market

Beginner Level 3 · Moin! Was darf es sein?

Needs a subscription 18
The Dyke Holds

Advanced Level 2 · Wann dürfen die Menschen zurück?

Needs a subscription 23
A Crowdfunding Idea

Advanced Level 2 · Eine Kampagne im Radio? Darf ich das?

Needs a subscription 5
Weck and Bretzel

Fluency Level 2 · Grüß Gott! Was darf's sein?

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: modal verb.