dürfen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Dürfen (to be allowed to, may) in the simple past (Präteritum): durfte, durftest, durfte, durften, durftet, durften.
Präteritum Simple past
| ich | regular: dürfte |
|---|---|
| du | regular: dürftest |
| er/sie/es | regular: dürfte |
| wir | regular: dürften |
| ihr | regular: dürftet |
| sie/Sie | regular: dürften |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the simple past (Präteritum)
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How it is formed
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Dürfen is irregular here. 6 of 6 forms break the pattern (dark tiles above); the regular pattern would give dürfte, dürftest, dürfte, dürften, dürftet, dürften.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Dürfen in a sentence
- Ich darf heute ausgehen.I am allowed to go out today.
- Er durfte nicht mitkommen.He wasn't allowed to come along.
Modal verb; ich/er darf (irregular), negative often means 'must not'.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of dürfen?
Dürfen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich durfte, du durftest, er/sie/es durfte, wir durften, ihr durftet, sie/Sie durften.
Is dürfen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
Yes. 6 of 6 forms break the regular pattern: ich durfte (regular would be dürfte); du durftest (regular would be dürftest); er/sie/es durfte (regular would be dürfte); wir durften (regular would be dürften); ihr durftet (regular would be dürftet); sie/Sie durften (regular would be dürften).
When do you use the German simple past (Präteritum)?
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How is the simple past (Präteritum) formed?
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Full dürfen conjugation, all tenses →
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