Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Si entrenamos bien, puede que ganemos el próximo torneo de ajedrez del club. - If we train well, we may win the club’s next chess tournament.

Puede que ganemos literally means “it may be that we win.”
- puede que + subjunctive expresses possibility / uncertainty.
Podemos ganar means “we can win / we are able to win.”
- poder + infinitive expresses ability or potential, more neutral and less about probability.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about what might happen in the future, so “puede que ganemos” focuses on how likely it is, not just on our ability.

Why is “ganemos” in the subjunctive?

The verb ganemos is in the present subjunctive because it depends on “puede que”.

In Spanish, many expressions that show:

doubt,
possibility,
uncertainty,
wish, emotion, etc.

are followed by the subjunctive.

“Puede que” is one of those expressions, so you say:

Puede que ganemos. (subjunctive)
Not: ✗ Puede que ganamos.

Other similar patterns:

Es posible que lleguemos tarde.
Dudo que tengan tiempo.

Why isn’t it “si entrenemos bien” with subjunctive?

In Spanish real or likely conditions about the present or future use:

si + present indicative, not subjunctive.

So we say:

Si entrenamos bien, puede que ganemos.
Si estudias, vas a aprobar.

The subjunctive with si is used for hypothetical or unlikely situations, usually with a conditional in the other clause:

Si entrenáramos bien, ganaríamos más torneos.
(“If we trained well, we would win more tournaments.” – but we don’t really train well.)

Here the idea is a realistic plan (“if we train well [in the future]”), so present indicative: entrenamos is correct.

What tense is “entrenamos” here? Isn’t that also a past tense?

For -ar verbs like entrenar, the first person plural (“we”) form is:

Present indicative: nosotros entrenamos
Preterite (simple past): nosotros entrenamos

So the form is the same, but the meaning depends on context.

Si entrenamos bien, puede que ganemos…
→ future/conditional meaning: if we train well (from now on) → present
Ayer entrenamos bien y ganamos.
→ clear time word “ayer” (yesterday) → past

In your sentence, it clearly refers to future training, so it’s present tense.

Could I say “Si entrenamos bien, ganaremos el próximo torneo” instead?

Yes, that is also correct, and it’s a bit stronger:

Si entrenamos bien, ganaremos el próximo torneo.
→ sounds confident, almost like a prediction: If we train well, we will win.
Si entrenamos bien, puede que ganemos el próximo torneo.
→ sounds less certain, more like there’s a good chance we’ll win.

So the original with “puede que ganemos” emphasizes possibility, not certainty.

Why is there no “nosotros” in the sentence?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns like yo, tú, él, nosotros when the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Entrenamos can only be “we train” → subject is clearly “we.”
Ganemos (here) can only be “that we win.”

So “nosotros” is not needed:

Si entrenamos bien, puede que ganemos… ✅
Si nosotros entrenamos bien, puede que nosotros ganemos… ✅ but sounds heavier and more emphatic.

You’d normally add nosotros only for contrast or emphasis, e.g.:

Si nosotros entrenamos bien, no ellos, puede que ganemos.

What exactly does “puede que” mean? Is it the same as “es posible que”?

“Puede que” literally comes from “(es) posible que” / “it may be that”, and in practice:

puede que + subjunctive ≈ es posible que + subjunctive.

Both express possibility:

Puede que ganemos.
Es posible que ganemos.

Difference:

“Puede que” is very common in spoken Spanish and sounds natural and compact.
“Es posible que” can sound a bit more neutral or careful.

Grammatically, they behave the same: both require subjunctive afterward.

Could I say “puede ser que ganemos” instead of “puede que ganemos”?

Yes:

Puede que ganemos.
Puede ser que ganemos.

Both are correct and mean almost the same: “we might win / it’s possible we’ll win.”

Nuance:

“Puede que” is shorter and very commonly used.
“Puede ser que” is also valid, but often you just drop ser in everyday speech.

In Latin American Spanish, “puede que + subjunctive” is perfectly standard and widely understood.

Why is it “del” and not “de el” in “del club”?

In Spanish, the preposition de + the article el contracts:

de + el → del

So:

torneo del club = torneo de el club (but you never write or say it that way).

Other common contractions:

a + el → al
- Voy al club. (= a el club)

Why is it “torneo de ajedrez del club” and not “torneo del ajedrez del club”?

Here “de ajedrez” is like saying “chess tournament” → it classifies the type of tournament.

Spanish often uses “de + noun” to specify the type or category:

torneo de tenis (tennis tournament)
clase de matemáticas (math class)

In this usage, you don’t add an article:

torneo de ajedrez ✅
✗ torneo del ajedrez (would sound like “the tournament of the chess,” which is unnatural here)

“Del club” just adds who organizes it or owns it: the club’s chess tournament → torneo de ajedrez del club.

Could I say “el torneo del club de ajedrez” instead? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

el torneo de ajedrez del club
el torneo del club de ajedrez

Both can be understood as “the chess tournament of the club”, but there’s a slight difference in focus:

torneo de ajedrez del club
→ It’s a chess tournament, and it happens to be the club’s.
torneo del club de ajedrez
→ Emphasizes that it’s a tournament of the chess club (as an organization).

In everyday conversation, people would normally say “el torneo de ajedrez del club” unless they specifically mean a formal “Chess Club” as an entity.

Why is “próximo” used here? Could I use “siguiente” instead?

In dates or sequences, both próximo and siguiente can mean “next”, but there’s a nuance:

próximo often means the upcoming one in time:
- el próximo torneo = the next tournament coming up.
siguiente is more like the one that follows in a series:
- En la siguiente ronda, jugamos contra ellos. = In the following round…

In your sentence, “el próximo torneo” is the natural choice because it’s about the next tournament in time.
“El siguiente torneo” is not wrong, but “próximo” sounds more idiomatic here.

Why isn’t “entrenar” reflexive here (why not “nos entrenamos”)?

Entrenar can be:

Transitive: train someone/something.
- El entrenador entrena al equipo. (The coach trains the team.)
Intransitive / pronominal: train oneself (more common in sports talk).
- Nos entrenamos todos los días. (We train [ourselves] every day.)

In practice, for sports context, both:

Entrenamos bien.
Nos entrenamos bien.

can be heard, and the meaning is almost the same: we train well / we practice well.

In many Latin American varieties, “entrenar” without “nos” is totally natural when it means “we practice / we train,” so “Si entrenamos bien…” sounds very normal.
Adding “nos” here would also be acceptable: “Si nos entrenamos bien…”, but it’s not required.