poder conjugation
Poder means "can" or "to be able to". The present changes its stem (puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden), the preterite has its own (pude, pudiste, pudo), and the future and conditional drop the e (podré, podría). Put a verb after it and you're set: puedo ir (I can go).
- Red pencil is what breaks the pattern. The outline is the boot. Textbooks call these boot verbs because the forms that change make that shape.
- Same boot in vuelvo (volver), encuentro (encontrar) and duermo (dormir).
poder — can, to be able to. Puedo.
Present indicative
The everyday present: what you do, what's true, what's going on.
| Pronoun | poder | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | PWEH-doh |
| tú | puedes | PWEH-dehs |
| él / ella / usted | puede | PWEH-deh |
| nosotros | podemos | poh-DEH-mohs |
| vosotros | podéis | poh-DEH-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pueden | PWEH-dehn |
When the stress lands on the stem, the o turns into ue: puedo, puedes, puede, pueden. Nosotros and vosotros stress the ending, so they keep pod-. With vos it's vos podés.
Preterite
The past for things that happened and finished: "I went", "she said".
| Pronoun | poder | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pude | POO-deh |
| tú | pudiste | poo-DEES-teh |
| él / ella / usted | pudo | POO-doh |
| nosotros | pudimos | poo-DEE-mohs |
| vosotros | pudisteis | poo-dees-TAY-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pudieron | poo-DYEH-rohn |
New stem, pud-, and no accents: pude, not pudé. Tener (tuve), estar (estuve) and poner (puse) do the same kind of thing.
Imperfect
The past for how things were or used to be: "I was going", "we used to live".
| Pronoun | poder | Say |
|---|---|---|
| yo | podía | poh-DEE-ah |
| tú | podías | poh-DEE-ahs |
| él / ella / usted | podía | poh-DEE-ah |
| nosotros | podíamos | poh-DEE-ah-mohs |
| vosotros | podíais | poh-DEE-ah-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | podían | poh-DEE-ahn |
Future, conditional and subjunctive
"Will" and "would", plus the subjunctive: the form Spanish uses after wishes, doubts and "if" (espero que…, si fuera…).
| Pronoun | Future | Conditional | Pres. subj. | Imp. subj. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | podré | podría | pueda | pudiera |
| tú | podrás | podrías | puedas | pudieras |
| él / ella / usted | podrá | podría | pueda | pudiera |
| nosotros | podremos | podríamos | podamos | pudiéramos |
| vosotros | podréis | podríais | podáis | pudierais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | podrán | podrían | puedan | pudieran |
The future and conditional drop the e: podré, not poderé. The conditional is how you ask nicely: ¿podrías ayudarme? (could you help me?).
Gerund and past participle
The "-ing" form (estoy hablando, I'm talking) and the one that goes with haber (he hablado, I've talked).
| Form | poder | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| gerund (-ing) | pudiendo | No pudiendo dormir, leí un rato (not being able to sleep, I read for a while) |
| past participle | podido | No he podido llamarte (I haven't been able to call you) |
The gerund flips the o to u: pudiendo. You'll mostly see it written.
Imperative
Commands: telling someone to do something, or not to.
| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | puede | no puedas |
| usted | pueda | no pueda |
| nosotros | podamos | no podamos |
| vosotros | poded | no podáis |
| ustedes | puedan | no puedan |
These exist, but you'll pretty much never use them. You can't really order someone to be able to.
pude or podía?
Both mean "could", but not the same "could". Pude is one time it worked: pude terminar a tiempo (I managed to finish on time). No pude is one time it didn't: no pude dormir (I couldn't sleep last night). Podía is what you could do in general, or the backdrop of a story: de niño podía correr horas (as a kid I could run for hours).
Asking. ¿Puedo…? is asking permission (¿puedo pasar?, can I come in?). ¿Puedes…?, or the softer ¿podrías…?, is asking someone to do something. And se puede means "it's allowed": ¿se puede fumar aquí? (can you smoke here?).
- Looking a word up once doesn't mean you'll remember it. The verb you look up today is gone by tomorrow. The one that keeps showing up in stuff you'd read anyway, right when you're about to forget it, is the one that sticks.
- No streaks, no guilt. Kin tracks one number: how many words you've got in reach today. It drops when you take a break and comes back when you do.
Questions
What is the preterite of poder?
Pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron. It's got its own stem, pud-, and no accents.
What is the difference between pude and podía?
Pude is one try with a result: pude abrir la puerta (I managed to open the door), no pude abrirla (I tried and couldn't). Podía is ability in general: podía abrir cualquier puerta (I could open any door).
How do you say "can I" in Spanish?
¿Puedo…? plus a verb: ¿puedo ir? (can I go?). To ask for something, ¿me puede dar…?, or more politely ¿me podría dar…? (could you give me…?).
What is the gerund of poder?
Pudiendo, with the o turned into u. It's mostly a written thing: no pudiendo esperar más (not being able to wait any longer).
What does puede que mean?
"Maybe", or "it might be that". It takes the subjunctive: puede que llueva (it might rain). On its own, puede is just "maybe": ¿vienes? — puede (are you coming? — maybe).
Keep going
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