Breakdown of No podemos encontrar nuestras maletas azules.
no
no, not
azul
blue
la maleta
the suitcase
nuestro
our
poder
to be able to / can
encontrar
to find
Questions & Answers about No podemos encontrar nuestras maletas azules.
Wait, isn't poder a stem-changing verb? Why is it podemos instead of puedemos?
You are right that poder (to be able to) is an 'o to ue' stem-changing verb. However, the nosotros (we) form is an exception to this rule in the present tense. It keeps the original 'o' from the infinitive, making it podemos. The other forms do change (for example, yo puedo and tú puedes).
Why is encontrar left in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated?
When you have two verbs right next to each other where the first one acts on the second, like 'can find' (podemos encontrar), you only conjugate the first verb. The second verb stays in its infinitive (the dictionary form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). By the way, encontrar is also an 'o to ue' stem-changing verb, but since it is not conjugated here, its stem does not change!
Why is it nuestras instead of nuestro or nuestros?
Why is the word for blue spelled azules here?
In Spanish, adjectives must match the noun in number. To make an adjective plural, you add '-s' if it ends in a vowel. But if it ends in a consonant, like azul, you add '-es' to make it plural (azules). Also, notice how the color comes after the noun (maletas azules) instead of before it like in English!
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