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Nous pouvons peut-être entrer.

Nous pouvons peut-être entrer.
We can maybe go in.
From Lesson 54:The verb to be able to (pouvoir)·French

Breakdown of Nous pouvons peut-être entrer.

pouvoir
to be able to / can
entrer
to enter
peut-être
maybe, perhaps

Questions & Answers about Nous pouvons peut-être entrer.

Why does the verb change to pouvons here instead of looking like peux or peut?
Pouvoir is an irregular verb. For the nous (we) and vous (you) forms, the stem changes to pouv-. So we get nous pouvons and vous pouvez, whereas the singular forms use peu- (like je peux).
Is it a coincidence that peut-être starts with peut, which is a form of pouvoir?
Not a coincidence at all! Peut-être literally translates to can be (peut means can or it can, and être means to be). Over time, it became a single hyphenated word meaning maybe or perhaps.
Why is the second verb, entrer, not conjugated?
In French, when you have two verbs working together, the first one is conjugated and the second one stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form. Since pouvons is already conjugated to match nous, entrer (to enter / to go in) stays in its base form.
Can I put peut-être at the beginning of the sentence, like we do with maybe in English?
Yes, but in French, short adverbs usually go immediately after the conjugated verb, which is why it sits right after pouvons here. If you want to put it at the very beginning, you usually have to add que right after it, making it: Peut-être que nous pouvons entrer.

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