Questions & Answers about J'ai pu obtenir l'indemnité.
Why does this sentence use the passé composé J'ai pu instead of the imparfait Je pouvais?
When used in the passé composé, pouvoir implies that you were not only able to do something, but you actually went ahead and succeeded in doing it. J'ai pu obtenir means 'I managed to get' or 'I successfully got'. If the speaker had used the imparfait (Je pouvais obtenir), it would only describe their ability or permission to get it, leaving us guessing whether they actually got the money or not.
Could I translate this as 'I could get the compensation'?
It is best to avoid 'could' here. In English, 'I could' often sounds conditional, like a hypothetical possibility ('I could get it if I tried'). Because J'ai pu states a factual, completed success in the past, translating it as 'I managed to' or 'I was able to' prevents any ambiguity.
How does the meaning change if I make this sentence negative?
Just as the affirmative J'ai pu emphasizes a completed success, the negative Je n'ai pas pu emphasizes a definitive failure. Je n'ai pas pu obtenir l'indemnité means 'I couldn't get it' or 'I failed to get it' despite trying.
What exactly does l'indemnité refer to?
Une indemnité is a very common French term for financial compensation, an allowance, or a payout. Depending on the real-life situation, this could be severance pay (indemnité de licenciement), unemployment benefits, or an insurance claim. In all cases, it refers to money given to compensate for a loss, expense, or hardship.