Poder Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson and PDF
Let’s see what we can do to learn poder conjugation!
Poder is a common Spanish verb that translates to “can” or “to be able to.” In any language, people often talk about things that they can or cannot do, from asking or giving permission to discussing skills and abilities (or lack thereof).
Poder conjugation is irregular. It is a stem-changing verb, in which the –o- in the stem often changes to either –u- or –ue-. No other verbs follow the same pattern as poder.
El poder is also a noun that means “power.” The fun words poderoso (“powerful”) and poderes mágicos (“magical powers”) derive from it.
Today, we’ll learn poder conjugation in various forms, including three moods:
- indicative mood (present, past, conditional, and future)
- the subjunctive mood (present and past)
- and the imperative mood.
Let’s see just how this can-do Spanish verb works!
¡Tú puedes hacerlo!
You can do it!
The Ultimate Guide to Poder Conjugation
Since this is a complete guide to poder conjugation, you may not be familiar with all the tenses and forms shown. You can practice your newfound poder conjugation skills using some exercises later in this blog post!
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Poder Conjugation: Verbals
For these poder conjugations, there are two forms of poder that you need to learn.
- Conjugation of haber + past participle of poder
- Conjugation of estar + gerund form of poder
The infinitive form of the verb is poder.
The past participle of poder is podido.
The gerund form of poder is pudiendo.
These compound tenses involve using the helping poderbs haber and estar. The conjugation changes in these tenses happen within the helping poderbs, while the form of poder stays the same.
Let’s see them in action.
Querer es poder.
To want is to be able. (Where there’s a will there’s a way.)
No he podido escribir el ensayo.
I haven’t been able to write the essay.
¿Seguiremos pudiendo utilizar nuestra oficina en el futuro?
Will we all still be able to use our office in the future?
Poder Conjugation: Indicative Mood
Poder is a common Spanish verb, and the indicative mood is the one most commonly used in Spanish.
| Yo | puedo |
| Tú | puedes |
| Él, ella, usted | puede |
| Nosotros | podemos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | pueden |
¿Usted puede llamarlo?
Can you call him?
Por ahora, ellas no pueden asistir a la clase.
For now, they can’t attend the class.
Yo puedo poner la mesa.
I can set the table.
¿Podemos pasar?
May we come in?
No se puede pisar la grama aquí.
You can’t walk on the grass here.
| Yo | pude |
| Tú | pudiste |
| Él, ella, usted | pudo |
| Nosotros | pudimos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | pudieron |
Ayer Marta no pudo ir a la escuela.
Yesterday Marta wasn’t able to go to school.
No pude dormir anoche porque había mucho ruido.
I couldn’t sleep last night because there was a lot of noise.
¿Ustedes pudieron hablar inglés cuando llegaron a los Estados Unidos?
Could you speak English when you arrived in the United States?
| Yo | podía |
| Tú | podías |
| Él, ella, usted | podía |
| Nosotros | podíamos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | podían |
Cuando era niña, no podía silbar.
When I was a little girl, I couldn’t whistle.
Cuando vivíamos en el mar, podíamos andar descalzos.
When we lived on the coast, we could go around barefoot.
¿Andres podía correr más lejos la semana pasada?
Was Andres able to run further last week?
Conditional
| Yo | podría |
| Tú | podrías |
| Él, ella, usted | podría |
| Nosotros | podríamos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | podrían |
Si vivieras en Chicago, podríamos trabajar juntos.
If you lived in Chicago, we could work together.
¿Podrías venir conmigo, por favor?
Can you come with me, please?
¿Podría traerme puré de papa en vez de sopa?
Could you bring me mashed potatoes instead of soup?
| Yo | podré |
| Tú | podrás |
| Él, ella, usted | podrá |
| Nosotros | podremos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | podrán |
Si dejamos la puerta abierta, alguien podrá entrar.
If we leave the door open, someone will be able to come in.
Si usted no se registra pronto, no podremos garantizar su plaza.
If you do not register soon, we will not be able to guarantee your spot.
Una vez que estemos todos aquí, podrás empezar.
Once we are all here, you will be able to start.
Poder Conjugation: Subjunctive Mood
We use the subjunctive mood to talk about hypotheses, hopes, wishes, or uncertainty.
| Yo | pueda |
| Tú | puedas |
| Él, ella, usted | pueda |
| Nosotros | podamos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | puedan |
Probablemente pueda ir en abril.
I will probably be able to go in April.
No creo que puedan cocinar hoy.
I don’t think that they can cook today.
¡Espero que Olivia pueda participar en el concurso!
I hope Olivia can participate in the contest!
| Yo | pudiera |
| Tú | pudieras |
| Él, ella, usted | pudiera |
| Nosotros | pudiéramos |
| Ellos, ellas, ustedes | pudieran |
Yo esperaba que Guillermo pudiera comprar los boletos del tren para el viaje.
I was hoping that Guillermo could buy the train tickets for the trip.
Si pudieras hacerlo hoy, lo agradecería.
If you could do it today, I would appreciate it.
Sería genial si pudiéramos jugar en el torneo.
It would be amazing if we could play in the tournament.
Two other subjunctive tenses exist: future and past perfect. The future subjunctive is rarely used, and the past subjunctive tense in the table above is the more common of the two.
Poder Conjugation: Imperative Mood
We use the imperative mood to give orders or commands. Because it’s rare to give someone the command “Be able to do something,” the imperative forms of poder sound strange. And it’s especially awkward in the negative form—imagine commanding someone to not be able to do something!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
| Tú | Puede | No puedes |
| Usted | Pueda | No pueda |
| Nosotros | Podamos | No podamos |
| Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes | Puedan | No puedan |
¡Pueda hacer el trabajo! (usted)
Be able to do the job!
¡No puedas cantar bien! (tú)
Don’t be able to sing well!
The conditional form of poder is much more commonly used to give orders in a polite way. For example:
¿Podrías ayudarme?
Could you help me?
Now, it’s time to practice what we’ve covered!
Poder Conjugation Exercises
To practice with your newfound knowledge of poder conjugation, complete the following exercises! You can check your work with the answer key below.
Exercise 1
Identify the tense and pronoun of each poder conjugation.
1. Pudo
2. Podrán
3. Puedes
4. Podrían
5. Pueda
Exercise 2
Conjugate poder in the tense given.
1. Usted – present
2. Ellas – past imperfect
3. Tú – conditional
4. Nosotros – future
5. Yo – past simple (preterite)
Exercise 3
Fill in the blank with the correct form of poder.
1. Nosotros _____________ ir al parque hoy. (present simple)
2. Ella ha _____________ enseñar español desde hace cinco años. (past participle)
3. Quiero que nosotros _____________ hablar. (present subjunctive)
4. Tú _____________ ir a la universidad. (future)
5. Él solo _____________ cocinar pasta y pan tostado. (imperfect)
Exercise 4
Translate the following sentences to English.
1. ¿Puedes visitar a mi mama?
2. Mañana podré hacer la caminata en la montaña.
3. Nosotros podríamos elegir si fuera un sistema justo.
4. No puedo ir porque me siento mal.
5. ¿Has podido aprender la lección?
Click here to check your answers.
You Can Speak Spanish!
¡Felicidades! You’ve learned about poder conjugation in Spanish and uses of the verb poder. To continue practicing, try a free trial class with our friendly, native Spanish-speaking teachers. You can ask them about when to use each poder conjugation and how to best learn Spanish. Enhance your Spanish skills by engaging in real-life conversation.
Ready to learn more Spanish grammar and vocabulary? Check these out!
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- Bien vs Bueno: How Good is Your Spanish?
- How to Talk About Learning a Language in Spanish
- Señora vs Señorita: Who Is She?
Answer Key
Exercise 1
1: ella/él – past simple, 2: ellos/ustedes – future, 3: tú – present simple, 4: ellos/ustedes – conditional, 5: yo/ella/él – present subjunctive
Exercise 2
1: puede, 2: podían, 3: podrías, 4: podremos, 5: pude
Exercise 3
1: podemos, 2: podido, 3: podamos, 4: podrás, 5: podía
Exercise 4
1: Can you visit my mom? 2: Tomorrow I can do the hike on the mountain. 3: We would be able to choose if it were a fair system. 4: I can’t go because I feel bad. 5: Have you been able to learn the lesson?
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