The modal verb "dürfen" in German
Meaning of "dürfen"
The verb "dürfen" means:
To be allowed to.
Wir dürfen keine Zeit verlieren
We can’t lose any time
Darf ich dich zum Essen einladen?
May I invite you to dinner?
When "Dürfen" is negated, it means “should not”.
Ihr dürft nicht so gemein zu anderen Kindern sein
You should not be so mean to other kids
Grammar of "dürfen"
"dürfen" is a modal verb. Which means that normally it needs another verb to complement its meaning.
Like the rest of the modal verbs, its auxiliary verb is haben.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dürfen | darf | durfte | gedurft | to be allowed to |
"Dürfen" is an irregular verb
Conjugation of "dürfen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich darf | I am allowed to |
| du darfst | you are allowed to |
| er/sie/es darf | he/she/it is allowed to |
| wir dürfen | we are allowed to |
| ihr dürft | you are allowed to |
| sie dürfen | they are allowed to |
Wie schnell darf man in Deutschland fahren?
How fast can you drive in Germany?
Dürfen wir uns vor dem Schlafen noch einen Film ansehen?
Can we see a movie before going to sleep?
Darf ich Ihnen eine Frage stellen?
Can I ask you a question?
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich durfte | I was allowed to |
| du durftest | you were allowed to |
| er/sie/es durfte | he/she/it was allowed to |
| wir durften | we were allowed to |
| ihr durftet | you were allowed to |
| sie durften | they were allowed to |
Durftest du mit 18 fahren?
Were you allowed to drive at 18?
Als Kinder durften wir fast gar nichts
When we were children, we weren't allowed to do a lot
Perfect (Perfekt)
"Dürfen", just like the rest of the modal verbs, forms the Perfekt with the following structure:
haben + FULL VERB + dürfen
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich habe essen dürfen | I am allowed to eat |
| du hast essen dürfen | you are allowed to eat |
| er/sie/es hat essen dürfen | he/she/it is allowed to eat |
| wir haben essen dürfen | we are allowed to eat |
| ihr habt essen dürfen | you are allowed to eat |
| sie haben essen dürfen | they are allowed to eat |
The Perfekt is rarely used with "dürfen"; it is common to use the Präteritum.
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich dürfte |
| du dürftest |
| er/sie/es dürfte |
| wir dürften |
| ihr dürftet |
| sie dürften |
Participle (Partizip)
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| dürfend (being allowed to) | gedurft (been allowed to) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
dürfen like the rest of modal verbs. It does not have an imperative.
Next Lessons:
home > : Pronouns | Prepositions | Nouns | Plurals | Diminutives | Conjugation | Passive | Irregular verbs | Modal Verbs | Separable verbs | Reflexive verbs | Reciprocal verbs | Impersonal verbs | Conjunctions | Articles | Adverbs | Konjunktionaladverbien | Adjective | Comparative and superlative | Word order in German | Negation and Affirmation | Interrogation | Indirect question | Subordinates | relative clauses | Conditional clauses | Comma
Suggestions to Help You | Difficulties with learning German | Greetings