1. Home>
  2. verbs>
  3. poder

How to conjugate Poder in Spanish

To be able to Irregular Verb Top 100

Introduction

Poder is the Spanish verb meaning "to be able to / to can". This verb can be used to ask for permission, e.g. ¿Podría usar el baño?, or to to express tolerance for something "No puedo más", meaning "I can't do any more". In it's purist form, it is used to express capability to do something. For example: "Mi hermano puede nadar 1 kilómetro sin parar" - "My brother can swim 1km without stopping".

Similar verbs to poder include: ser capaz (to be competent), lograr (to be able to).

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitivepoderto be able to
Past participlepodidobeen able to
Gerundpudiendobeing able to
🇪🇸 Midterm Sale

Get 20% off with code MIDTERM24. Hurry, this is for this week (and web) only!

It includes the most detailed verb tables (with full English translation) for Poder and 2,000+ other verbs.

Claim now

Indicative Tenses of Poder

Poder in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of poder is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "puedo hablar español", meaning "I am able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopuedo I am able to
puedes you are able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpuede s/he is able to, you (formal) are able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodemoswe are able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospodéisyou (plural) are able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespueden they are able to, you (plural formal) are able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of poder is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "pude hablar español", meaning "I was able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopude I was able to
pudiste you were able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpudo s/he was able to, you (formal) was able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospudimos we were able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospudisteis you (plural) were able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespudieron they were able to, you (plural formal) were able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of poder is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "podía hablar español", meaning "I used to be able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YopodíaI used to be able to
podíasyou used to be able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpodías/he used to be able to, you (formal) used to be able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodíamoswe used to be able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospodíaisyou (plural) used to be able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespodíanthey used to be able to, you (plural formal) used to be able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of poder is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy pudiendo hablar español", meaning "I am being able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy pudiendo I am being able to
estás pudiendo you are being able to
Ella / Él / Ustedestá pudiendo s/he is being able to, you (formal) are being able to
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos pudiendo we are being able to
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis pudiendo you (plural) are being able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán pudiendo they are being able to, you (plural formal) are being able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of poder is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a poder hablar español", meaning "I am going to be able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a poderI am going to be able to
vas a poderyou are going to be able to
Ella / Él / Ustedva a poders/he is going to be able to, you (formal) are going to be able to
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a poderwe are going to be able to
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a poderyou (plural) are going to be able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a poderthey are going to be able to, you (plural formal) are going to be able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of poder is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "podré hablar español", meaning "I will be able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopodré I will be able to
podrás you will be able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpodrá s/he will be able to, you (formal) will be able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodremos we will be able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospodréis you (plural) will be able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespodrán they will be able to, you (plural formal) will be able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of poder is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "podría hablar español", meaning "I would be able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopodría I would be able to
podrías you would be able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpodría s/he would be able to, you (formal) would be able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodríamos we would be able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospodríais you (plural) would be able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespodrían they would be able to, you (plural formal) would be able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of poder is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he podido hablar español", meaning "I have been able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe podidoI have been able to
has podidoyou have been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedha podidos/he has been able to, you (formal) have been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos podidowe have been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis podidoyou (plural) have been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan podidothey have been able to, you (plural formal) have been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of poder is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había podido hablar español", meaning "I had been able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía podidoI had been able to
habías podidoyou had been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía podidos/he had been able to, you (formal) had been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos podidowe had been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais podidoyou (plural) had been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían podidothey had been able to, you (plural formal) had been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of poder is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré podido hablar español", meaning "I will have been able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré podidoI will have been able to
habrás podidoyou will have been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá podidos/he will have been able to, you (formal) will have been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos podidowe will have been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis podidoyou (plural) will have been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán podidothey will have been able to, you (plural formal) will have been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of poder is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría podido hablar español", meaning "I would have been able to speak Spanish".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría podidoI would have been able to
habrías podidoyou would have been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría podidos/he would have been able to, you (formal) would have been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos podidowe would have been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais podidoyou (plural) would have been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían podidothey would have been able to, you (plural formal) would have been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top
🇪🇸 Midterm Sale

Get 20% off with code MIDTERM24. Hurry, this is for this week (and web) only!

It includes the most detailed verb tables (with full English translation) for Poder and 2,000+ other verbs.

Claim now

Subjunctive Tenses of Poder

Poder in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "pueda", meaning "I am able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopueda I am able to
puedas you are able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpueda s/he is able to, you (formal) are able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodamoswe are able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospodáisyou (plural) are able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespuedan they are able to, you (plural formal) are able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "pudiera", meaning "I were able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopudiera I were able to
pudieras you were able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpudiera s/he were able to, you (formal) were able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospudiéramos we were able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospudierais you (plural) were able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespudieran they were able to, you (plural formal) were able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "pudiere", meaning "I will be able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yopudiere I will be able to
pudieres you will be able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpudiere s/he will be able to, you (formal) will be able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospudiéremos we will be able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospudiereis you (plural) will be able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespudieren they will be able to, you (plural formal) will be able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya podido", meaning "I have been able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya podidoI have been able to
hayas podidoyou have been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya podidos/he has been able to, you (formal) have been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos podidowe have been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis podidoyou (plural) have been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan podidothey have been able to, you (plural formal) have been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera podido", meaning "I had been able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera podidoI had been able to
hubieras podidoyou had been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera podidos/he had been able to, you (formal) had been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos podidowe had been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais podidoyou (plural) had been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran podidothey had been able to, you (plural formal) had been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "hubiere podido", meaning "I will have been able to".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere podidoI will have been able to
hubieres podidoyou will have been able to
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere podidos/he will have been able to, you (formal) will have been able to
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos podidowe will have been able to
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis podidoyou (plural) will have been able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren podidothey will have been able to, you (plural formal) will have been able to

Or use our app:


Back to top
🇪🇸 Midterm Sale

Get 20% off with code MIDTERM24. Hurry, this is for this week (and web) only!

It includes the most detailed verb tables (with full English translation) for Poder and 2,000+ other verbs.

Claim now

Imperative Tenses of Poder

Poder in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "pueda", meaning "(to you formal) be! able to".

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
puede (to you) be! able to
Ella / Él / Ustedpueda (to you formal) be! able to
Nosotras / Nosotrospodamoslet's be! able to
Vosotras / Vosotrospoded(to you plural) be! able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedespuedan (to you plural formal) be! able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Poder in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no pueda", meaning "(to you formal) don't be! able to".

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no puedas (to you) don't be! able to
Ella / Él / Ustedno pueda (to you formal) don't be! able to
Nosotras / Nosotrosno podamoslet's not be! able to
Vosotras / Vosotrosno podáis(to you plural) don't be! able to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno puedan (to you plural formal) don't be! able to

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Example sentences and usage

  • A veces él puede ser un chico raro. Sometimes he can be a strange guy.
  • Algunas veces no puedo evitar mostrar mis sentimientos. Sometimes I can't help showing emotions.
  • Te sorprendería lo que puedes aprender en una semana. You'd be surprised what you can learn in a week.
  • No podemos dormir por el ruido. We can't sleep because of the noise.
  • Cuando no puedas hacer lo que quieras, haz lo que puedas. When you can't do what you want, you do what you can.
  • Puedes terminar tu ensayo ahora. You can finish your essay now.
  • ¿Cuándo se puede decir que una persona tiene problemas con el alcohol? When can one say that a person has alcohol issues?
  • "¿Alguien puede ayudarme?" "Yo lo haré". Can somebody help me?" "I will.

Back to top

Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Poder Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

Download image
poder conjugation in Spanish
Back to top

Practice Poder conjugations (free mobile & web app)

Get full conjugation tables for Poder and 2,000+ other verbs on-the-go with Ella Verbs for iOS, Android, and web.

We also guide you through learning all Spanish tenses and test your knowledge with conjugation quizzes. Download it for free!

verb-library.png conjugation-empezar-1.png
Rated 98% based on 7,343+ ratings

Back to top

About Ella Verbs

👋 Hola! We built Ella Verbs to help people (and ourselves!) master one of the hardest parts of Spanish – verb conjugation. It guides you through learning all tenses in an easy-to-follow way, giving you levels of bite-sized lessons and fun quizzes. Here is a 6 minute overview of all of the app's features:

It has changed a lot over the 6+ years we have been working on it, but the goal remains the same – to help you master Spanish conjugation! You can download and try it for free, and, if you do, please send any and all feedback our way!

- Jane & Brian

Rated 98% based on 7,343+ ratings

Back to top

Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Poner – to put, to place or see the complete list of verbs here.


Back to top
Logo

Download for free now

Join 100,000+ others and master your Spanish conjugation with the top-rated verb app, Ella Verbs

Rated 98% based on 7,343+ ratings

Great program that has and is helping me immensely. Four years [studying Spanish] and after just a couple of days with this app I finally am 'getting' the verb thing into my head. After the first couple of lessons I finally feel comfortable conversing with the natives here in Panama. I still have a long way to go but this application was the key for me. Thank you!

Google Play Store