pudiera

Pudiera is the imperfect subjunctive form of the Spanish verb poder. It can be used for all persons in that mood (yo pudiera, tú pudieras, él pudiera, nosotros pudiéramos, vosotros pudierais, ellos pudieran) and is commonly found in dependent clauses expressing hypothetical, uncertain, or wished-for situations in the past or in conditional contexts. An alternative but closely related form with the same meaning is pudiese.

Grammatical function and usage. Pudiera appears in subordinate clauses that require the imperfect subjunctive, often following verbs of doubt, desire, necessity, or possibility, or after past-tense main clauses in hypothetical constructions. It also appears in polite requests or formal inquiries, such as ¿Pudiera usted ayudarme? or Quisiera saber si pudiera informarme. When used with si, pudiera expresses unreal or less probable conditions: Si pudiera volver atrás, cambiaría lo ocurrido. In narrative or report style, pudieran and related forms convey hypothetical outcomes or reported speech in the past.

Regional and stylistic notes. The imperfect subjunctive has two main sets of endings in Spanish: -ra and -se forms. Pudiera is the -ra form and is widely used across dialects, while pudiese is the -se variant. In some dialects, one form can be more common in spoken language, but both are grammatically correct and interchangeable in many contexts, with local preferences guiding usage.

Etymology. Pudiera derives from poder, a verb of Latin origin (potere). The imperfect subjunctive forms reflect historical developments from Latin to modern Spanish and are part of a broader system of hypothetical and subjunctive mood usage.

Related forms include pudiera, pudieras, pudiéramos, and pudieran, all belonging to the same imperfect subjunctive paradigm of poder.