italiano · A1 · verb · 4 minutes
Potere: present tense
Express ability, possibility, and polite permission with poss-/puo-.
Understand the choice
Potere covers practical ability, permission, and possibility. Italian can attach an unstressed object pronoun to the infinitive, as in aiutarti, or place it before the finite modal.
Core rule: Potere is irregular; può takes an accent and a following infinitive has no preposition.
Notice it in context
Posso aiutarti, ma oggi non possiamo restare.
I can help you, but today we cannot stay.
Posso agrees with io and supports aiutarti; possiamo agrees with noi and supports restare.
Puoi aprire la finestra?
Can you open the window?
Puoi begins the question; aprire stays infinitive.
Loro possono venire con noi.
They can come with us.
Possono agrees with loro; venire is unchanged.
What to remember
- Può needs a grave accent; puo is misspelled.
- Posso aiutarti and ti posso aiutare are both standard.
Common trap: Do not conjugate the second verb: possiamo restare, not possiamo restiamo.