pouvait

Pouvait is the imperfect tense form of the French verb pouvoir, meaning "to be able to" or "to can." It expresses past ability, past possibility, or a habit of being able to do something. In the imperfect, pouvoir is irregular: je pouvais, tu pouvais, il pouvait, nous pouvions, vous pouviez, ils pouvaient. The verb is commonly used to describe what someone was able to do at a given time in the past, or what could happen under certain conditions.

In terms of translation, pouvair often corresponds to "could," "was able to," or "was able to" in English, depending on context. It contrasts with the present tense pouvoir, which is "can" or "is able to," and with the passé composé form "ai/ as/ a pu," which expresses a completed past action: "I could" or "I was able to" at a specific moment.

Examples:

- Il pouvait venir demain si son travail le permettait. (He could come tomorrow if his work allowed it.)

- Quand elle était jeune, elle pouvait courir vite. (When she was young, she could run fast.)

- Nous ne pouvions pas attendre plus longtemps. (We couldn’t wait any longer.)

Etymology and related forms:

Pouvoir comes from Latin potēre, through Old French forms such as povoir/pouoir, evolving into modern pouvoir. Related forms include the present tense peux/peut, the conditional pourrait, and the past participle pu, used in compound tenses like j’ai pu.

Overall, pouvait is a key verb form for describing past capability or possibility in French, and it appears frequently in narration, reporting, and everyday speech.