Puede

Puede is the third-person singular form of the present indicative of the Spanish verb poder. Poder means “to be able to” or “to be capable of,” and puede is used to express ability, possibility, or permission in the present tense. Example: “Ella puede hablar tres idiomas.”

Conjugation and form details: Poder is a stem-changing verb in the present tense, with o → ue in most forms. The present indicative forms are puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. The word puede is used with an infinitive to describe current capability, as in “Puede cocinar muy bien.” The verb also has a present subjunctive form, pueda, used in dependent clauses: “Es posible que pueda venir.” Other tenses for poder are irregular, with forms such as pude (preterite) and podré (future).

Usage and meanings: Puede is versatile. It can denote ability (“Puede correr rápido”), possibility in various contexts (“Puede llover más tarde”), or polite permission in questions or requests (“¿Puede ayudarme, por favor?”). A construction with puede que introduces a probability or hypothesis: “Puede que venga.”

Etymology and related forms: Poder derives from Latin potere, related to the concept of being able. Cognates appear in other Romance languages, such as poder in Spanish, potere in Italian, and poder in Portuguese. The verb’s irregular, stem-changing nature is a characteristic feature of its present tense.

See also: poder, poder in subordinate clauses, subjunctive forms of poder, related Romance verbs.