3 Asking for, declining and giving permission
To ask permission you can use darf ich …? (may I …?)
Darf ich die Hose anprobieren? May I try on the trousers?
To give permission, you can say:
Ja, das dürfen Sie. Yes, you may.
To refuse permission, you can say:
Nein, das darf man nicht. No, you may not.
or
Nein, das dürfen Sie nicht
or to a child, close friend or relative:
Nein, das darfst du nicht.
One would not have expected a customer to be refused permission to try clothes on, but during the COVID-19 pandemic you may have heard:
Leider darf man im Moment wegen COVID-19 die Kleider nicht anprobieren. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to try clothes on at the moment because of COVID-19.
Notice that using man darf nicht here sounds politer than Das dürfen Sie nicht, but both are correct.
To say that you don’t need to do something you can use brauchen.
Sie brauchen die Hose nicht zu suchen. You don’t need to look for the trousers.
Sie brauchen nicht zu warten. You don’t need to wait.
Activity 5
Part 1
Part 2
Practise asking to try these items on. Repeat the phrase a few times, then record yourself and play it back to listen to your pronunciation.
