Niemand darf beim Spiel betrügen.

nobody

Breakdown of Niemand darf beim Spiel betrügen.

• das Spiel: the game
• beim: during/at the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• dürfen: may / to be allowed to

Questions & Answers about Niemand darf beim Spiel betrügen.

Why is darf in the second position, and betrügen at the end?

This is because German is using a modal verb here.

• dürfen = a modal verb
• betrügen = the main action verb

In a normal main clause, German puts the finite verb in second position. Here, the finite verb is darf.

So the pattern is:

• Niemand
  • darf
    • ... + betrügen

The main verb betrügen stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause.

This is very common in German:

• Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.
• Sie muss heute arbeiten.
• Niemand darf beim Spiel betrügen.

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What exactly does dürfen mean here?

Here, dürfen expresses permission or what is allowed.

So Niemand darf ... means:

• Nobody is allowed to ...
• No one may ...

In this sentence, it creates a rule or prohibition.

That is slightly different from English can, which often means ability. German usually keeps those ideas more separate:

• dürfen = to be allowed to
• können = to be able to

So this sentence is about permission/rules, not ability.

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Why is it Niemand darf and not Niemand dürfen?