The Different Meanings of Dürfen in German

Dà ¼rfen  (to be allowed to) is one of the six modal verbs  that are so essential in both English and German. As with other modal verbs, it is almost always used with another verb in a sentence. Dà ¼rfen  can also take on a few different meanings, depending on its context: As opposed to kà ¶nnen  (can, to be able to), the spelling of dà ¼rfen is far different from its English equivalent may, allowed/permitted to. This makes it a little more challenging to study, but its so important that students of the German language should fully understand its various meanings and learn how to conjugate dà ¼rfen. Dà ¼rfen: To Be Allowed to The main definition of dà ¼rfen  is may or to be allowed to. This is the most common use for the verb and you will find yourself using it quite often. Darf ich draußen spielen, Mutti? (May I play outside, Mom?)Der Schà ¼ler durfte nur einEN Bleistift und einEN Radiergummi zur Prà ¼fung mitbringen. (The student was only allowed to bring a pencil and an eraser to the exam.) When it comes to dà ¼rfen,  it seems that both English and German speakers make the same mistake. Did your English teacher ever reply to you with â€Å"I don’t know if you can, but you certainly may† in response to a question you formulated with â€Å"Can I†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , instead of â€Å"May I†¦?† Germans share the same habit as you can compare in these two sentences which have completely different meanings: Kann ich bitte zur Toilette hingehen? (Can I go to the washroom?)Darf ich bitte zur Toilette hingehen?  (May I go to the washroom?) Dà ¼rfen: Polite Requests Dà ¼rfen  can also be used as a form of politeness when asking a question or making a request. Wenn ich bitten darf, mit welcher Fluglinie sind Sie geflogen?  (If I may ask, on which airline did you fly?Darf ich rein?  (May I come in?) Dà ¼rfen: A Possibility There are also times when you may want to use dà ¼rfen  to indicate a strong possibility that something will happen. To form  this meaning of dà ¼rfen, the subjunctive II must be used. Sie dà ¼rfte um 8 Uhr hier sein.  (She will most likely be here at 8 o’clock.)Meine Tante dà ¼rfte bald mehr Geld bekommen.  (My aunt will most likely receive more money.) Nicht Dà ¼rfen   When you add an infinitive verb to nicht dà ¼rfen, you express the prohibition of something. Hier darf man nicht schwimmen.  (You are not allowed to swim here.) When you add the subjunctive II and an infinitive to nicht dà ¼rfen, you express an accusation. Deine Hausaufgaben hà ¤ttest du nicht vergessen dà ¼rfen, jetzt bekommst du keine gute Note. (You should not have forgotten your homework, now you won’t receive a good mark.)