pudesse

Pudesse is the imperfect subjunctive form of the Portuguese verb poder, meaning "to be able to." It is used in hypothetical, uncertain, or non-real clauses and can refer to past-inferred possibilities or to present/future situations treated as contingent. The forms for pudesse across the subject pronouns are eu pudesse, tu pudesses, ele pudesse, nós pudéssemos, vós pudésseis, eles pudessem.

In practice, pudesse appears mainly in subordinate clauses introduced by if or similar conjunctions, such as se, caso, or mesmo em perguntas indiretas. It conveys a sense of "if I/he/she/they could" under a condition that did not necessarily occur. Examples: Se eu pudesse, viajaria mais. (If I could, I would travel more.) Embora pudesse ajudar, não o fez. (Although he could help, he did not.) Não sei se ele pudesse vir hoje. (I don’t know if he could come today.)

Pudesse is often contrasted with poder, which has present and conditional forms (possa, possa; poderia). Puder a form is the simple future/subjunctive used in certain contexts, whereas pud esse marks a past-oriented or counterfactual subjunctive mood. In Brazilian and European Portuguese, pud esse remains standard for expressing hypothetical or contrary-to-fact ideas in subordinate clauses.

Etymologically, pud esse is the imperfect subjunctive form of poder, rooted in the broader Romance verb family deriving from Latin posse. It coexists with other subjunctive moods to express nuance in modality, obligation, desire, or doubt.