Poder Conjugation: How to Conjugate Can, Be Able In Spanish

Poder (Meaning: Can, to be able to) is an essential Spanish verb. The conjugation of poder in the present tense is: Yo puedo (I can, am able), tú puedes (you can, are able), él/ella/usted puede (he/she can, is able; you can, are able), nosotros podemos (we can, are able), vosotros podéis (you can, are able) and ellos/ellas/ustedes pueden (they/you can, are able).

Poder is an irregular ER verb. While its endings when conjugated in the preset tense are the same as other regular ER verb, it has an irregular stem. This page our site explains regular and irregular Spanish ER verbs in detail.

Further down this page we provide conjugation tables with example sentences for poder for the following commonly used tenses:

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• Near future tense (futuro proximo)
• Future tense (futuro)
• Preterite (préterito)
• Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)
• Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)
• Conditional (potencial simple)
• Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Poder conjugation table

Poder: twelve verb tenses in the “yo” form

The following graphic provides the forms for the first-person singular (yo) of poder in 12 verb tenses.

Poder conjugation charts

Present tense (el presente de indicativo)

In the present tense, yo puedo translates to “I can” and “I am able to”.

yo puedo	I can, am able	Yo puedo hacer muchas cosas.	I can do a lot of things.
tú puedes	you can, are able	Tú puedes hablar español.	You can speak Spanish.
él/ella, usted puede	he/she/you can; he/she is able, you are able	Ella no puede venir esta noche.	She isn't able to come tonight.
nosotros podemos	we can, are able	Nosotros podemos ir a la fiesta.	We can go to the party.
vosotros podéis	you can, are able	Vosotros podéis cocinar la paella.	You can cook the paella.
ellos/ellas, ustedes pueden	they/you can, are able	Ellos pueden ayudarnos.	They area able to help us.

Near future tense (futuro proximo)

The near future tense is formed with the following construction: Ir (to go) conjugated in the present tense + preposition a + infinitive. Yo voy a poder translates to “I’m going to be able”.

yo voy a poder	I am going to be able	Voy a poder viajer a Colombia.	I'm going to be able to travel to Colombia.
tú vas a poder	you are going to be able	Vas a poder comprar el coche.	You're going to be able to buy the car.
él/ella, usted va a poder	he/she/you is (are) going to be able	Él va a poder trabajar aquí.	He's going to be able to work here.
nosotros vamos a poder	we are going to be able	Vamos a poder viver a Madrid	We're going to be able to live in Madrid.
vosotros vais a poder	you will be able	Vais a poder alquilar el piso.	You're going to be able to rent the apartment.
ellos/ellas, ustedes van a poder	you/they are going to be able	Ellos van a poder conseguir las visas.	They're going to be able to get the visas.

Future tense (futuro)

In the future tense, yo podré translates to “I will be able”.

yo podré	I will be able	Yo podré ayudarte.	I'll be able to help you.
tú podrás	you will be able	¿Podrás venir a la fiesta?	Will you be able to come to the party?
él/ella, usted podrá	he/she/you will be able	Él podrá solucionar el problema.	He'll be able to solve the problem.
nosotros podremos	we will be able	Nosotros podremos analizar la situación.	We'll be able to analyze the situation.
vosotros podréis	you will be able	Vosotros podréis pedir disculpas.	You'll be able to apologize.
ellos/ellas, ustedes podrán	they/you will be able	Ellos podrán disfrutar de su jubilación.	They'll be able to enjoy their retirement.

Preterite (préterito)

The preterite tense is used to express completed actions in the past. Yo pude translates to “I was able” and “I could”.

yo pude	I was able, could	No pude traducir el documento.	I wasn't able to translate the document.
tú pudiste	you were able, could	Tú pudiste comprar el televisor.	You were able to buy the TV.
él/ella, usted pudo	he/she/you was (were) able, could	Él pudo encontrar un coche nuevo.	He was able to find a new car.
nosotros pudimos	we were able, could	Nosotros pudimos irnos de vacaciones.	We could go on vacation.
vosotros pudisteis	you were able, could	No pudisteis trabajar el fin de semana.	You couldn't work on the weeknds.
ellos/ellas, ustedes pudieron	they/you were able, could	Ellos pudieron disfrutar de su tiempo en Argentina.	They were able to enjoy their time in Argentina.

Past indefinite (perfect de indicativo)

The past indefinite tense is used to express past actions which may be on going and have a bearing on the present. Yo he podido translates to “I have been able”.

yo he podido	I have been able	No he podido contactarlo.	I haven't been able to contact him.
tú has podido	you have been able	Has podido resolver tus broncas.	You've been able to resolve your problems.
él/ella, usted ha podido	he/she/you has (have) been able	Todavía no ha podido encontrar una novia.	He still hasn't been able to find a girlfriend.
nosotros hemos podido	we have been able	Hemos podido disfrutar de los paisajes de este país.	We've been able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this country.
vosotros habéis podido	you have been able	Habéis podido ganar dinero fácilmente.	You've been able to earn money easily.
ellos/ellas, ustedes han podido	they/you have been able	Han podido aprender todos los verbos.	They've been able to learn all the verbs.

Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

The imperfect tense is used to express ongoing actions which used to occur in the past. Yo podía translates to “I used to be able to”, “I was able to” and “I could”.

yo podía	I was/used to be able, could	Cuando era niño, no podía hablar español.	When I was a child I couldn't speak Spanish.
tú podías	you were/used to be able, could	Cuando era estudiante podías estudiar durante mucho tiempo.	When you were a student you could study for a long time.
él/ella, usted podía	he/she/you was (were)/used to be able, could	Ella nunca podía ser buena en matemáticas.	She could never be good at math.
nosotros podíamos	we were/used to be able, could	Cuando éramos jovenes podíamos correr rápidamente.	When we were young we could run fast.
vosotros podíais	you were/used to be able, could	Cuando estabais a Madrid podíais entender casi todo.	When you were in Madrid you could understand almost everything.
ellos/ellas, ustedes podían	they/you were/used to be able, could	Cuando eran adolescente no podían salir sin pedir permiso.	When they were teenagers they couldn't go out without asking permission.

Conditional (potencial simple)

The conditional tense is used to express hypothetical situations. Yo podría translates to “I could”. Poder in the conditional is also used to make polite requests.

yo podría	I could	Yo podría vender mi departemento pero quiero quedarme aquí.	I could sell my apartment but I want to say here.
tú podrías	you could	¿Podrías ayudarme, por favor?	Could you help me, please?
él/ella, usted podría	he/she/you could	¿Podría decirme por qué está estudiando español?	Could you tell me why you're studying Spanish?
nosotros podríamos	we could	Nosotros podríamos visitar Paris pero preferimos Monaco.	We could visit Paris but we prefer Monaco.
vosotros podríais	you could	Podríais darnos el caviar y las langostas, por favor.	Could you please give us the caviar and lobsters.
ellos/ellas, ustedes podrían	you/they could	Podrían pedir una botella de vino pero prefieren la champaña.	They could order a bottle of wine but they prefer champagne.

Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

In Spanish, the subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, emotions and doubts. Yo pueda translates to “I can” and “I am able”.

yo pueda	I can, am able	Piensa que no pueda ayudarles.	He thinks I can't help them.
tú puedas	you can, are able	¿Es verdad que no puedas venir?	Is it true that you can't come?
él/ella, usted pueda	he/she/you can, is (are) able	No es cierto que no pueda hacer nada.	It's not true that he can't do anything.
nosotros podamos	we can, are able	Quiere que podamos hacer el pastel.	He wants us to be able to make the cake.
vosotros podáis	you can, are able	Es dudoso que podáis participar esta noche.	It's doubtful that you can participate tonight.
ellos/ellas, ustedes puedan	they/you can, are able	No pienso que puedan asistsir a la reunión.	I don't think they can attend the meeting.

Discover more:

• Ser vs. estar – beginners guide
• Ser (to be) conjugation charts
• Estar (to be) conjugation charts
• Hablar (to speak) conjugation charts