Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Podes fumar na rua.

Podes fumar na rua.

You can smoke in the street.

Breakdown of Podes fumar na rua.

in the / on the / at the (f.sg)

Questions & Answers about Podes fumar na rua.

Why is the word 'you' missing from the sentence?

In Portuguese, the pronoun tu (you, informal) is often left out because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. Podes specifically means 'you can', so adding tu isn't strictly necessary.

How do we use 'poder' (can) with another verb like 'fumar' (to smoke)?

When you want to say you 'can' do something, you change the verb poder to match the person (here, podes for 'you'), and leave the second verb in its original dictionary form, called the infinitive (here, fumar). You do not need any linking words between them.

Why does it say 'na rua' instead of 'em a rua' for 'in the street'?

Na is a mandatory combination (contraction) of the preposition em (in/on) and the feminine word for 'the' (a). Because rua (street) is feminine, 'in the street' merges em + a to make na rua.

If I wanted to ask 'May I smoke?', would I still use 'podes'?

No, podes always refers to 'you' (You can / Can you?). To ask for permission for yourself, you must use the 'I' form of the verb instead: Posso fumar? (May I / Can I smoke?).