Poder means can, to be able to. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden.
Poder in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Poder is followed by an infinitive: puedo ir, I can go.
Poder in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Poder in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Poder in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Poder in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | pude | podía | podré | podría |
| tú | puedes | pudiste | podías | podrás | podrías |
| él / ella / usted | puede | pudo | podía | podrá | podría |
| nosotros / nosotras | podemos | pudimos | podíamos | podremos | podríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | podéis | pudisteis | podíais | podréis | podríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pueden | pudieron | podían | podrán | podrían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | I can |
| tú | puedes | you can |
| él / ella / usted | puede | he/she can |
| nosotros / nosotras | podemos | we can |
| vosotros / vosotras | podéis | you all (vosotros) can |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pueden | they can |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pude | I was able to |
| tú | pudiste | you were able to |
| él / ella / usted | pudo | he/she was able to |
| nosotros / nosotras | pudimos | we were able to |
| vosotros / vosotras | pudisteis | you all (vosotros) were able to |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pudieron | they were able to |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | podía | I could |
| tú | podías | you could |
| él / ella / usted | podía | he/she could |
| nosotros / nosotras | podíamos | we could |
| vosotros / vosotras | podíais | you all (vosotros) could |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | podían | they could |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | podré | I will be able to |
| tú | podrás | you will be able to |
| él / ella / usted | podrá | he/she will be able to |
| nosotros / nosotras | podremos | we will be able to |
| vosotros / vosotras | podréis | you all (vosotros) will be able to |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | podrán | they will be able to |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | podría | I would be able to |
| tú | podrías | you would be able to |
| él / ella / usted | podría | he/she would be able to |
| nosotros / nosotras | podríamos | we would be able to |
| vosotros / vosotras | podríais | you all (vosotros) would be able to |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | podrían | they would be able to |
Poder differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: puedo, puedes, puede; preterite: pude, pudiste, pudo; future: podré, podrás, podrá; conditional: podría, podrías, podría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron. For example, pude means “I was able to”.
Poder differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: puedo, puedes, puede; preterite: pude, pudiste, pudo; future: podré, podrás, podrá; conditional: podría, podrías, podría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (pude) presents a completed event; the imperfect (podía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I was able to” and “I could”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are podré (“I will be able to”) and podría (“I would be able to”). The full charts above include every person.
Poder means can, to be able to. Poder is followed by an infinitive: puedo ir, I can go.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.