tohtima

Being Allowed (Tohtima)

Level 2

Kas ma tohin sisse tulla? means May I come in? Siin ei tohi suitsetada means Smoking is not allowed here.

How It Works

tohtima means to be allowed or may. Learn its forms, because the stem shortens: tohin, tohid, tohib, tohime, tohite, tohivad; past tohtisin, tohtis; negative ei tohi, past negative ei tohtinud. The verb after it is in the da-infinitive: tohin tulla, ei tohi suitsetada.

  • Asking for permission: Kas ma tohin sisse tulla? The conditional tohiksin is extra polite: Kas ma tohiksin küsida?
  • Giving permission: Sa tohid minna. In everyday speech võid is also very common here: Sa võid minna.
  • Bans and rules: ei tohi means must not or is not allowed. With no subject it states a general rule: Siin ei tohi suitsetada.

Do not mix up ei tohi and ei pea. Sa ei tohi tulla means you must not come. Sa ei pea tulema means you do not have to come. Note also the different infinitives: tohtima takes -da, but pidama takes -ma.

Examples (6)

  1. Kas ma tohin sisse tulla?

    May I come in?

    Word by Word: Q I may in come

    Kas asks the question; tulla is the da-infinitive.

  2. Siin ei tohi suitsetada.

    Smoking is not allowed here.

    Word by Word: here not may smoke

    A general rule with no subject.

  3. Lapsed ei tohi üksi ujuma minna.

    Children must not go swimming alone.

    Minna is the da-infinitive after ei tohi; ujuma is the ma-infinitive after minema.

  4. Kas ma tohiksin küsida, kui vana te olete?

    May I ask how old you are?

    The conditional tohiksin makes the request more polite.

  5. Eile ei tohtinud keegi majast lahkuda.

    Yesterday nobody was allowed to leave the house.

    Ei tohtinud is the past negative.

  6. Sa tohid telerit vaadata, kui kodutöö on tehtud.

    You may watch TV when your homework is done.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ei pea when you mean must not.

    Siin ei pea suitsetama.
    Siin ei tohi suitsetada.

    Ei pea means there is no need to. To say that something is forbidden, use ei tohi.

  • Using the ma-infinitive after tohtima.

    Kas ma tohin sisse tulema?
    Kas ma tohin sisse tulla?

    tohtima is followed by the da-infinitive, like võima and saama.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

tohtimaLevel 2Being Allowed (Tohtima)

Learn This First

tohtima is another permission verb like võima.

Words in This Pattern

tohtima