Poder Conjugation | How to Conjugate Poder in Spanish

Poder means “can,” “to be able to,” or “to be possible.” You will learn its puedo, pude, podré, pueda, and pudiere families, plus gerund pudiendo and restricted commands.

Poder conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Poder combines several stems: pued- in stressed present forms, pud- in the preterite and related subjunctives, and podr- in the future and conditional. Its gerund is pudiendo — “being able to / managing to.”

Poder gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle podido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	poder	to be able to / can
Gerund	pudiendo	being able to / managing to
Past participle	podido	been able to

Poder meaning and essential uses

Poder is usually followed directly by an infinitive to express ability, possibility, permission, or circumstantial opportunity: Puedo entrar. — “I can enter / I am able to enter.”

RAE also records impersonal possibility with third-person puede que + subjunctive: Puede que llueva. — “It may rain.” Other lexical senses include being strong enough to overcome something, as in No puedo con esta caja. — “I cannot manage this box.”

Poder irregular conjugation patterns

Stressed present forms use pued-: puedo, puedes, puede, pueden. Nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep pod-: podemos, podéis.

The preterite and related imperfect/future subjunctives use pud-: pude, pudo, pudieron, pudiera, pudiere. The future and conditional use podr-: podré — “I will be able to” — and podría — “I would be able to.”

Poder indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Poder present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. Stressed forms use pued-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras use pod-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	puedo	I can / am able to
Tú — you, singular informal	puedes	you can / are able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	puede	he / she can; you can (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	podemos	we can / are able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	podéis	you can / are able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pueden	they can; you can (plural)

• Puedo ayudarte esta tarde. — I can help you this afternoon.

Poder preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The entire preterite uses the irregular pud- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pude	I was able to / managed to
Tú — you, singular informal	pudiste	you were able to / managed to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pudo	he / she was able to; you were able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	pudimos	we were able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	pudisteis	you were able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pudieron	they were able to; you were able to (plural)

• Ayer pude terminar el trabajo. — Yesterday I was able to finish the work.

Poder imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	podía	I could / used to be able to
Tú — you, singular informal	podías	you could / used to be able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	podía	he / she could; you could (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	podíamos	we could / used to be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	podíais	you could / used to be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	podían	they could; you could (plural)

• Antes podía correr diez kilómetros. — I used to be able to run ten kilometers.

Poder present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Usage note: progressive estar + pudiendo is possible but less neutral than simple poder; it often emphasizes that someone is currently managing to do something.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy pudiendo	I am managing to / am currently able to
Tú — you, singular informal	estás pudiendo	you are managing to / are currently able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está pudiendo	he / she is managing to; you are currently able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos pudiendo	we are managing to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis pudiendo	you are managing to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están pudiendo	they are managing to; you are managing to (plural)

• Estoy pudiendo dormir mejor esta semana. — I am managing to sleep better this week.

Poder near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and poder.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a poder	I am going to be able to
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a poder	you are going to be able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a poder	he / she is going to be able to; you are going to be able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a poder	we are going to be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a poder	you are going to be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a poder	they are going to be able to; you are going to be able to (plural)

• Voy a poder terminar mañana. — I am going to be able to finish tomorrow.

Poder future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The future uses the irregular stem podr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	podré	I will be able to
Tú — you, singular informal	podrás	you will be able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	podrá	he / she will be able to; you will be able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	podremos	we will be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	podréis	you will be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	podrán	they will be able to; you will be able to (plural)

• Podremos entrar a las nueve. — We will be able to enter at nine.

Poder conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The conditional uses the irregular stem podr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	podría	I would be able to / could
Tú — you, singular informal	podrías	you would be able to / could
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	podría	he / she would be able to; you could (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	podríamos	we would be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	podríais	you would be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	podrían	they would be able to; you would be able to (plural)

• Podría ayudarte si tuviera más tiempo. — I could help you if I had more time.

Poder present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he podido	I have been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	has podido	you have been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha podido	he / she has been able to; you have been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos podido	we have been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis podido	you have been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han podido	they have been able to; you have been able to (plural)

• He podido resolver el problema. — I have been able to solve the problem.

Poder past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había podido	I had been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	habías podido	you had been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había podido	he / she had been able to; you had been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos podido	we had been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais podido	you had been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían podido	they had been able to; you had been able to (plural)

• Ya habíamos podido hablar con ella. — We had already been able to speak with her.

Poder future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré podido	I will have been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás podido	you will have been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá podido	he / she will have been able to; you will have been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos podido	we will have been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis podido	you will have been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán podido	they will have been able to; you will have been able to (plural)

• Para entonces habrán podido completar la tarea. — By then they will have been able to complete the task.

Poder conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría podido	I would have been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías podido	you would have been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría podido	he / she would have been able to; you would have been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos podido	we would have been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais podido	you would have been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían podido	they would have been able to; you would have been able to (plural)

• Habría podido hacerlo antes. — I would have been able to do it earlier.

Poder subjunctive conjugations

Poder present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. Stressed forms use pued-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras use pod-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pueda	that I can / be able to
Tú — you, singular informal	puedas	that you can / be able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pueda	that he / she can; that you can (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	podamos	that we can / be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	podáis	that you can / be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	puedan	that they can; that you can (plural)

• Espero que puedas venir mañana. — I hope you can come tomorrow.

Poder imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. These forms use the pudier- family; the main table shows the -ra series.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pudiera	that I could / were able to
Tú — you, singular informal	pudieras	that you could / were able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pudiera	that he / she could; that you could (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	pudiéramos	that we could / were able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	pudierais	that you could / were able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pudieran	that they could; that you could (plural)

• Querían que pudiéramos entrar antes. — They wanted us to be able to enter earlier.
• Era importante que pudieses terminar a tiempo. — It was important that you be able to finish on time.

Poder future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare forms use the pudier- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pudiere	if / when I should be able to
Tú — you, singular informal	pudieres	if / when you should be able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pudiere	if / when he / she should be able to; if / when you should be able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	pudiéremos	if / when we should be able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	pudiereis	if / when you should be able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pudieren	if / when they should be able to; if / when you should be able to (plural)

• Quien pudiere demostrarlo deberá presentar las pruebas. — Whoever should be able to prove it must present the evidence.

Poder present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya podido	that I have been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas podido	that you have been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya podido	that he / she has been able to; that you have been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos podido	that we have been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis podido	that you have been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan podido	that they have been able to; that you have been able to (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas podido venir. — I am glad that you were able to come.

Poder past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera podido	that I had been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras podido	that you had been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera podido	that he / she had been able to; that you had been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos podido	that we had been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais podido	that you had been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran podido	that they had been able to; that you had been able to (plural)

• Si hubiera podido elegir, habría ido antes. — If I had been able to choose, I would have gone earlier.
• Si hubieses podido ayudar, lo habrías hecho. — If you had been able to help, you would have done it.

Poder future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle podido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere podido	if / when I should have been able to
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres podido	if / when you should have been able to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere podido	if / when he / she should have been able to; if / when you should have been able to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos podido	if / when we should have been able to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis podido	if / when you should have been able to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren podido	if / when they should have been able to; if / when you should have been able to (plural)

• Si hubieren podido acceder, deberán dejar constancia. — If they should have been able to gain access, they must make a record.

Poder imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The project includes an exhortative nosotros/nosotras row, built from the present subjunctive, alongside the standard imperative persons.

Poder affirmative commands

Restricted in the ordinary modal sense. RAE records puede / podé, pueda, poded, puedan as imperative forms. They belong mainly to lexical senses such as overcoming or managing something, not to ordinary English-style commands meaning “can.” The nosotros/nosotras row podamos is an exhortative subjunctive included for the project’s five-row command format.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	puede	overpower / manage (marked lexical imperative)
Usted — you, singular formal	pueda	overpower / manage (formal; marked)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	podamos	let’s be able to / manage (exhortative subjunctive)
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	poded	overpower / manage (plural, mainly Spain; marked)
Ustedes — you, plural	puedan	overpower / manage (plural; marked)

• Puede a tu rival con técnica, no con fuerza bruta. — Overcome your rival with technique, not brute force. (marked lexical imperative)

Poder negative commands

Restricted and context-dependent. The negative forms are subjunctive-based and morphologically valid, but direct commands built from modal “can / be able to” are unusual. Interpret them through lexical or exhortative uses rather than as ordinary modal commands.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no puedas	do not overpower / be able to (marked lexical command)
Usted — you, singular formal	no pueda	do not overpower / be able to (formal; marked)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no podamos	let’s not overpower / be able to (exhortative subjunctive)
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no podáis	do not overpower / be able to (plural, mainly Spain; marked)
Ustedes — you, plural	no puedan	do not overpower / be able to (plural; marked)

• No puedas con todo tú solo: pide ayuda. — Do not try to handle everything alone; ask for help. (marked command-like use)

Common constructions with Poder

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• poder + infinitive. — can / to be able to do something.
• puede que + subjunctive. — it may be that / perhaps.
• no poder con algo o alguien. — to be unable to handle / tolerate something or someone.

Example sentences with Poder

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• No puedo abrir la puerta. — I cannot open the door.
• ¿Puedes ayudarme? — Can you help me?
• Puede que llueva esta tarde. — It may rain this afternoon.
• No puedo con tanto ruido. — I cannot stand so much noise.
• Hemos podido terminar a tiempo. — We have been able to finish on time.
• Ojalá podamos resolverlo hoy. — I hope we can solve it today.

Regional and usage notes for Poder

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some common second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos podés hacerlo. — You can do it. (voseo)
• Podé con el reto y seguí adelante. — Overcome the challenge and keep going. (affirmative vos, marked lexical use)

Poder is best learned as several stem families: pued- in stressed present forms, pud- in the preterite-related families, and podr- in future and conditional. Its ordinary modal use is overwhelmingly followed by an infinitive.