Puedo

Puedo is the first-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb poder, meaning "I can" or "I am able to." It is used to express present ability, possibility, or permission, typically with an infinitive: "Puedo ayudar" (I can help), "Puedo ir ahora" (I can go now). It also appears in questions and polite requests: "¿Puedo entrar?" (May I come in?).

Poder is an irregular verb with a stem change in the present tense. The present indicative forms are: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. Other common forms include the past tense fuerte: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron; imperfect: podía, podías, podía, podíamos, podíais, podían; present subjunctive: pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, podáis, puedan; gerund: pudiendo; past participle: podido.

In usage, poder frequently combines with an infinitive to express ability or possibility in the present or future. It appears in phrases indicating probability or uncertainty with the present subjunctive: "Puede que llueva" (It may rain). It also forms polite permission or requests in the present tense: "¿Puede ayudarme?" (Could you help me?), while the direct, informal permission or offer is commonly expressed with "puedo" plus an infinitive or a pronoun.

Etymology traces poder to Latin potere or posse, meaning to have power or be able, passing into Old Spanish as poder. It remains one of the most frequent and versatile verbs in Spanish, essential for describing capability, likelihood, and permission across tenses.