español · A1 · verb · 4 minutes
Poder in the present
Talk about ability, permission, possibility, and helpful offers.
Understand the choice
Poder lets you say what is possible, ask permission, and offer practical help. Keep the following verb in the infinitive and master the o-to-ue stem change.
Core rule: Poder + infinitive expresses ability or permission; o changes to ue except in podemos and podéis.
Notice it in context
Puedo ayudarte y podemos hablar mañana.
I can help you and we can talk tomorrow.
Puedo and podemos show the changing and unchanged stems side by side.
¿Puedes repetir la pregunta?
Can you repeat the question?
A polite request uses puedes + infinitive.
No pueden entrar ahora.
They cannot enter now.
No goes before pueden; entrar remains infinitive.
What to remember
- The infinitive after poder never agrees with the subject.
- Puede also means may or might when discussing possibility.
Common trap: Do not conjugate both verbs: podemos hablamos is wrong; say podemos hablar.