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### The verb poder

The verb **poder** (can / may) is used to express possibility, ability, or to ask for permission. It is irregular in the present tense:

| Pronoun | Poder (Present) |
| --- | --- |
| Eu | posso |
| Tu | podes |
| Ele / Ela / Você | pode |
| Nós | podemos |
| Eles / Elas / Vocês | podem |

### Asking for permission

To ask for permission, use **poder** followed directly by an infinitive verb (such as **usar** or **entrar**). It is common to start a request with **desculpe** (excuse me) to be polite.

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### Navigating rules in public spaces

**Poder** is frequently used to explain rules in public spaces. To say that something is not allowed, place **não** before the conjugated form of **poder**.

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The verb can or may (poder)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Already and not yet (já, ainda não)

Question	Answer
excuse me / sorry	desculpe
can / may (verb)	poder
to use / to wear	usar
the bathroom	a casa de banho
Excuse me, can I use the bathroom?	Desculpe, posso usar a casa de banho?
You cannot use this bathroom, sir.	O senhor não pode usar esta casa de banho.
to enter	entrar
Excuse me, can we enter now?	Desculpe, podemos entrar agora?
The dog cannot enter the supermarket.	O cão não pode entrar no supermercado.
to smoke	fumar
You cannot smoke in the hospital.	Vocês não podem fumar no hospital.
You can smoke in the street.	Podes fumar na rua.
to take	tirar
the photograph	a fotografia
Can they take a photograph here?	Elas podem tirar uma fotografia aqui?
They cannot take photographs in the museum.	Eles não podem tirar fotografias no museu.
to bring	trazer
the drink	a bebida
Can we bring a drink to the party?	Podemos trazer uma bebida para a festa?
The students cannot bring drinks to the class.	Os alunos não podem trazer bebidas para a aula.
to have a bath	tomar banho
I have a bath in the morning.	Eu tomo banho de manhã.
She has a bath at night.	Ela toma banho à noite.
to brush one's teeth	lavar os dentes
I brush my teeth after dinner.	Eu lavo os dentes depois do jantar.
We brush our teeth every day.	Nós lavamos os dentes todos os dias.
the soap	o sabão
I need soap.	Eu preciso de sabão.
the tap	a torneira
The tap is in the bathroom.	A torneira está na casa de banho.
The tap is new.	A torneira é nova.
the washbasin	o lavatório
The soap is on the washbasin.	O sabão está no lavatório.
The washbasin is small.	O lavatório é pequeno.
I wash my hands in the washbasin.	Eu lavo as mãos no lavatório.
excuse me (may I pass)	com licença
Excuse me, may I come in?	Com licença, posso entrar?
Excuse me, madam!	Com licença, senhora!
never mind	não faz mal
Never mind, you can come in.	Não faz mal, tu podes entrar.
Sorry! Never mind.	Desculpe! Não faz mal.

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