Poder (Can/May) — Full Conjugation

Poder is the Portuguese verb for can, may, to be able to. It expresses two closely related ideas in one word: possibility (pode chover amanhã — it may rain tomorrow) and permission/ability (posso entrar? — may I come in?). It is one of the most frequent verbs in the language, and also one of the most stubbornly irregular: almost every tense has some quirk, and three separate stems (pod-, poss-, pud-) share the paradigm between them.

There is one accent mark on this page you must not lose sight of: the circumflex on pôde (3sg preterite, he could / was able to). Without it, pode is the 3sg present (he can). The whole meaning of a sentence can hinge on whether that tiny hat is there.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

The 1sg uses the poss- stem; every other person uses pod-. This is the single most important table for a beginner to memorize.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Fully regular on the pod- stem. Podia ajudar-te antes = I could help you before.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

The stem switches to pud- and the endings are irregular (this is one of the "strong" preterites in Portuguese, alongside ter, estar, saber, fazer, querer). Note the circumflex on pôde — it distinguishes the 3sg preterite from the 3sg present pode.

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Literary. Built off the pud- stem.

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Repeated or ongoing ability up to the present. Não tenho podido dormir = I haven't been able to sleep (lately).

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Regular on the pod- stem.

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

Extremely common — poderia and podia are both used for "could" in polite requests (podia abrir a janela, por favor?).

In everyday speech, the imperfect (podia, podias, podia...) often replaces the conditional here. Both are acceptable; the imperfect is more colloquial.

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Could have done. A staple of regret and blame. Podias ter dito! = You could have said (something)!

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Built off the poss- stem (from the 1sg present posso).

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Back to the pud- stem.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Also pud-. Used after se, quando, enquanto.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

Imperatives of poder are rare because you do not typically command someone to "be able to." When they appear, they are formal or set phrases (Possa eu ter sorte! = May I be lucky!).

Affirmative:

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Using poder — possibility, permission, requests

Poder + infinitive is a modal construction. It carries three overlapping meanings:

1. Possibility (it is possible that): Pode chover hoje à noite = It might rain tonight.
2. Ability / opportunity (one has the means or chance): Posso ajudar-te amanhã = I can help you tomorrow.
3. Permission (one is allowed): Posso entrar? = May I come in?

Some useful high-frequency fixed expressions:

• pode(s) ajudar-me? / pode(s) me ajudar? — can you help me? (the first is more European Portuguese; both are used)
• pode ser — maybe, could be, that works
• não pode ser! — it can't be!; no way! (surprise/disbelief)
• quanto antes, melhor — se puder ser — as soon as possible — if possible
• não posso mais — I can't take any more / I'm exhausted
• a mais não poder — to the utmost, extremely (estou cansado a mais não poder = I'm tired to no end)

Poder vs conseguir — the key distinction

English "could" collapses two meanings that Portuguese keeps apart:

• poder = to have the possibility, permission, or general ability (podia correr a maratona = I could run the marathon — I had the capacity in principle).
• conseguir = to actually manage, to pull it off (consegui correr a maratona = I managed to run the marathon — I actually did it).

A telling contrast:

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Poder has three stems: pod- (most tenses), poss- (1sg present + whole present subjunctive), pud- (preterite, pluperfect, imperfect/future subjunctives).
• Pode (present) vs pôde (preterite) is distinguished by a single circumflex — one of the very few contrastive accents preserved in modern spelling.
• Poder + infinitive covers possibility, permission, and ability: posso entrar?, pode chover, podes ajudar-me?
• For achievement ("managed to, pulled it off"), prefer conseguir over poder.
• In polite requests, both podia (imperfect) and poderia (conditional) are used; podia is more colloquial in EP.
• The past participle podido is regular, and poder is rarely used in the imperative.