pustiti / dopustiti / dozvoliti (to let/allow)

Croatian splits the English "let/allow" across three verbs that differ in both meaning and government. pustiti is the physical "let go, release, let someone do something"; dopustiti and dozvoliti are the formal "permit, grant permission". The construction English speakers have to internalise is the dative person + da-clause: you don't "allow someone to do" — you dopustiš nekome da nešto napravi ("permit to-someone that they do it"). This page gives the full paradigm for the headword dopustiti, compact rows for pustiti and dozvoliti, and the let-vs-permit nuance that decides which one you want.

Aspect

Two things to note about the imperfectives. Dopuštati shows the st → št jotation (dopustiti → dopuštati, dopuštam) — the t palatalises to št in the imperfective stem. Dozvoliti derives a longer imperfective in -avati (dozvoljavati), with l → lj softening. These look harder than they are; the perfectives are the ones you'll use most.

Present tense

Dopustiti (pf) is a regular i-class verb; its imperfective dopuštati is a-class (dopuštam). For reference, pustiti → pustim, dozvoliti → dozvolim.

The l-participle

Dopustiti builds on the stem dopusti-: masculine dopustio, feminine dopustila. The imperfective dopuštati gives dopuštao, dopuštala.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The everyday "allowed" is the perfective dopustio sam; the imperfective dopuštao sam marks a habit ("I used to allow").

Future I (futur prvi)

Dopustiti → dopustit ću (drops -i); likewise pustit ću, dozvolit ću.

Imperative

The perfective imperatives are the everyday requests: dopusti! ("allow [it]!"), pusti! ("let go! / leave it!"), dozvoli! ("permit!"). Pusti! on its own is the everyday "let go / drop it".

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle — for polite requests and hypotheticals. Dopustili biste ("would you allow") is a courteous way to ask permission.

Other forms

• Passive participle: dopušten, dopuštena, dopušteno ("permitted"); dozvoljen, dozvoljena, dozvoljeno ("allowed/permitted"); pušten ("released, let go"). Note the st → št in dopušten and l → lj in dozvoljen. The impersonal passive Nije dopušteno / dozvoljeno ("It is not permitted") is the standard sign-and-notice phrasing — see the se-passive and impersonal.
• The nouns: dopuštenje / dozvola ("permission, permit, licence"). Vozačka dozvola = "driving licence"; boravišna dozvola = "residence permit".
• Present verbal adverb: imperfective dopuštajući, dozvoljavajući, puštajući.

Key uses and government

1. dopustiti / dozvoliti + dative person + da-clause — "allow someone to…"

The core permission frame: the person permitted goes in the dative, and the permitted action is a da-clause. Dopusti mi da objasnim = "Let me explain" (literally "permit to-me that I explain"). This is the construction to over-learn, because English "allow someone to do" tempts you into an accusative + infinitive that Croatian does not use here. The dative-person government is part of the family at dative with verbs and adjectives.

2. dopustiti / dozvoliti + accusative thing — "permit something"

When the object is a thing or activity rather than a person+action, it goes in the accusative: dopustiti iznimku ("allow an exception"), dozvoliti pristup ("grant access"). See accusative direct object.

3. pustiti + accusative — "let go / release"

Pustiti governs a plain accusative for the thing/person released: pustiti pticu ("release the bird"), pusti me ("let go of me"). It also takes the let-do frame pustiti nekoga da… ("let someone do") — physically allow, get out of the way of — which is lighter and more concrete than the permission of dopustiti.

4. let vs permit — choosing the verb

Here is the nuance. Pustiti is physical, concrete — you step aside, release your grip, stop interfering: Pusti me da prođem ("Let me through"). Dopustiti / dozvoliti is granting permission — an authority saying yes: Dopustili su mi da uđem ("They allowed me in"). When the "let" is about physically not blocking someone, it's pustiti; when it's about authorisation, it's dopustiti/dozvoliti.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• dopustiti / dozvoliti = grant permission; pustiti = let go, release, let-do (physical).
• Permission frame: dative person + da-clause — Dopusti mi da objasnim (not accusative + infinitive); for a thing, accusative (dozvoliti pristup).
• pustiti takes the accusative (pusti me) and the let-do pustiti nekoga da….
• Passive: dopušten (st → št), dozvoljen (l → lj), pušten; the notice phrase is Nije dopušteno / dozvoljeno.
• Future drops -i: dopustit ću (never dopustiti ću). Imperfectives: dopuštati (dopuštam), dozvoljavati, puštati.