I can read the house rules and say what you may and may not do here, both about myself and about everyone at once.
Dürfen and man: what you may and may not do
Dürfen and man: what you may and may not do
House rules, a notice in the courtyard, and a sign at the entrance: you need to understand them and say them in your own words.
The forms of dürfen are in the first table. As with all modal verbs, ich and er share one form.
The sentence bracket is familiar: dürfen comes second, and the second verb goes to the end: Emma darf am Abend fernsehen. To ask permission: Darf ich …? (“May I …?”)
nicht dürfen means “not allowed”, a prohibition, like English “must not”; nicht goes before the last verb: Du darfst hier nicht rauchen.
man isn't one person but “people in general”, “anyone”. English says “you can't park here” with a general “you”; German uses man, never du. With man the verb takes the same form as with er, and this works with any modal verb (second table). man is only ever the subject.
Signs use one word instead of a whole sentence: Rauchen verboten. It means: Hier darf man nicht rauchen.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “er dürf” and NOT “du darf” — correct: er darf, du darfst.
• NOT “Hier man darf nicht parken” — man comes after the verb when the sentence starts with a place word.
• NOT “Hier dürfen man nicht schlafen” — with man, the form is as with er: darf.
• NOT “Man darf nicht zu rauchen” — the second verb takes no zu.
• NOT “Hier darf nicht man parken” — nicht goes before the last verb, not before man.
The verb dürfen in the present tense
As with all modal verbs, ich and er take the same form.
| Subject | The form of dürfen | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich | darf | Ich darf gehen. |
| du | darfst | Darfst du kommen? |
| er · sie · es | darf | Emma darf spielen. |
| wir | dürfen | Wir dürfen bleiben. |
| ihr | dürft | Dürft ihr fahren? |
| sie · Sie | dürfen | Die Kinder dürfen essen. |
The subject man and the language of signs
With man, the verb takes the same form as with er.
| In English | In German | Example |
|---|---|---|
| may, allowed | man darf | Man darf hier essen. |
| not allowed, prohibited | man darf nicht | Im Museum darf man nicht essen. |
| can, possible | man kann | Man kann hier bezahlen. |
| have to, need to | man muss | Man muss hier warten. |
| on a sign — one word | verboten | Rauchen verboten |
Lesson notes
Dürfen and man: what you may and may not do
House rules, a notice in the courtyard, and a sign at the entrance: you need to understand them and say them in your own words.
The forms of dürfen are in the first table. As with all modal verbs, ich and er share one form.
The sentence bracket is familiar: dürfen comes second, and the second verb goes to the end: Emma darf am Abend fernsehen. To ask permission: Darf ich …? (“May I …?”)
nicht dürfen means “not allowed”, a prohibition, like English “must not”; nicht goes before the last verb: Du darfst hier nicht rauchen.
man isn't one person but “people in general”, “anyone”. English says “you can't park here” with a general “you”; German uses man, never du. With man the verb takes the same form as with er, and this works with any modal verb (second table). man is only ever the subject.
Signs use one word instead of a whole sentence: Rauchen verboten. It means: Hier darf man nicht rauchen.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “er dürf” and NOT “du darf” — correct: er darf, du darfst.
• NOT “Hier man darf nicht parken” — man comes after the verb when the sentence starts with a place word.
• NOT “Hier dürfen man nicht schlafen” — with man, the form is as with er: darf.
• NOT “Man darf nicht zu rauchen” — the second verb takes no zu.
• NOT “Hier darf nicht man parken” — nicht goes before the last verb, not before man.