Poder

Today’s Spanish word of the day is “poder”.

It’s a verb meaning “to be able to” or “can”, and also a masculine noun meaning “power”.

You can also use the verb “poder” to express uncertainty in expressions like “puede que”, which means “it may be that” or “perhaps.” This structure is followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood to express uncertainty or doubt, for example:

• Puede que no te haya visto. – It could be that he didn’t see you/Maybe he didn’t see you.

“Poder” is an irregular verb. Here’s the conjugation in the present tense:

• Yo puedo – I can
• Tú puedes – You can (informal singular)
• Él/Ella/Usted puede – He/She/You can (formal singular)
• Nosotros podemos – We can
• Vosotros podéis – You can (informal plural, only used in Spain)
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes pueden – They/You can (plural)

The word “poder” comes from Vulgar Latin potere, which was a variant of the word posse, which also meant “to be able to”. This is also the root of several English words including the word “power” itself (via Old French povoir), as well as “potent” and “posse”.

Example sentences